I have not written here in a long time. It feels a little strange to be back. But I have big news to share, so this is a good moment to pick up the (virtual) pen again. We’re joining Your.Online. Joost, me and the entire Progress Planner team.
It has been a strange few years
A lot has changed since I last wrote. More than I could have guessed at the time.
When I left Yoast, I thought things would quiet down. They did not. The world kept moving fast, in almost every direction I looked.
The WordPress world changed. I am travelling towards Krakow today and I am looking forward to seeing my WordPress friends, but the WordPress world is not the same as it used to be.
The tech world changed even faster. AI arrived and it changed everything. The way we work, the way we build, the way people find what they are looking for. It is hard to overstate how much has shifted in such a short time.
And my own world changed too. I started teaching. I now lecture in online marketing, and I love being in front of a class. I also became active in local politics. I am a council member for my town. Both of these things gave me energy I did not know I was missing.
We have sold Progress Planner
So here is the news. We have sold Progress Planner. And we are joining Your.Online, together with our whole team. I am really happy that we found a European partner. That matters to me. Your.Online has strong European roots, and I like building close to home, with people who share that view.
We see so many opportunities to make new products. That is the part that excites me most. We want to keep doing what we did with Progress Planner. We want to make things that help people build better websites.
For me it always comes back to the customer. I want to add real value to the people who use what we make. I believe that when you do that well, growth follows. Not the other way around.
Bringing our team along
I am happy and grateful that our whole team is coming with us. They are simply the best.
They are also the nicest people to work with. That is not a small thing. I have learned that the people around you make or break the work.
People often underestimate branding. I never have. Some of the very first people we hired at Yoast were our designer and our illustrator (Mijke and Erwin). They shaped the Yoast brand from the start, and that brand became part of why people trusted us.
Those same people now work on Progress Planner. And they are coming with us to Your.Online. Iris, Taco, Mijke, Erwin, Ari and Philip are all part of this next step. I could not be more proud to keep building with them.
What I am looking forward to
I am looking forward to doing many different things. That is what gives me energy.
I love seeing many different brands up close. I have done this for years as an investor, and I still do. Every brand has its own story, its own customers, its own puzzle to solve.
Now I get to do that on a bigger scale, with a team I trust, and with a lot of room to build. I cannot wait to get started.
More soon. For now, onwards.