Trello grew rapidly. So quickly, in fact, that in 2014, he was something of a puzzle to us at Fog Creek.
We had other existing products that people liked and we did a nice pile of money each year. But we might to ignore them as Trello took more and more time and resources. We needed to make some changes, but what exactly?
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What we knew was that Trello needed VC funds if it were to continue to grow as fast as he had need. Yet we do not want to give up ownership of Fog Creek. And frankly, VCs found the prospect of investing in our old more profitable decade, software company, bootstrap a bit odd - I mean really, how prosaic Us
Of course, many advice we got was to rotate. But we really did not do that. We refused to believe that our only option was the devout pursuit only one idea, tucked away as nuns in a convent.
Despite the development of startup dogma above all, we were convinced that we could do more than one thing at a time without screwing up. Why can not we make it work? You can, after all, use your existing company resources to finance and build your idea, prove the application, show you can deliver, and put off-fundraising outside until you got enough traction to hang the big words.
So that's what we did - we spun-off Trello in his own business. We had done similar with Stack Overflow few years ago, and both worked well. It was not easy, and there are a ton of things you can mess up along the way. So for those who are considering doing the same, here are some of the questions you have to deal with:
Juggling these resources
While using the two companies, the resources will be stretched. In fact, this will be the case for some time, even after you spun-off as well. After all, you still need to backfill the positions of those who pass the new thing. But these issues are only temporary, and the sharing of resources can be super useful.
Please find office space for example. In San Francisco, New York and elsewhere, finding suitable office space can be a real drag - it's time and a great distraction from what you really want to do. So when we co-created Stack Overflow, some staff have worked on the Fog Creek office before they got their own space.
And Trello continues to share the Fog Creek office, even now, which saved them from having to worry about where all new employees go.
The break can be hard to do
Stack Overflow has grown rapidly, and therefore sometimes go fog Creek in the cafeteria could be an amazing experience -. you would see a bunch of strangers, whereas before you used to know everyone
So keep in mind that the spin-off of a business can be a testing time for some people. Especially in our case where we had many, an established company, joined to avoid the roller coaster start in life.
Be frank with detail
You know how fast office gossip can spread. So you need to be clear on all the details of the split. This is when entering the weed is actually a good thing.
Provide as much information in advance will keep the rumor mill at bay. This is something that we have better each time. Before moving forward with Trello split, Joel Spolsky, our co-founder, gave a presentation on what was happening with lots of time for questions afterwards, and all details are on our internal Wiki for future reference.
But it should not be a brain dump once.
The details should keep coming throughout the process continues even after the spin-off. Without explaining how things'll silly little problems like confusion on reservations meeting room when left unresolved, can have an impact inter-company relationships on the line.
Remember life after the spin-off
think about how companies will work after they were spun-off as well.
For Fog Creek, Trello Stack Overflow and there is what we call a common operating system. This is mainly the founders who are actively involved in all of them. But what that means is that if every company is working the way it needs, there's a shared approach them. They move themselves, but they learn from each other.
Take sales, for example - the successful approach of Stack Overflow is now in operation at a time Trello and Fog Creek. This applies to hiring, too. We all have the same high standards in recruitment, so employees often move between companies, which is great for retention.
There will be many other issues specific to your situation, but the spinning-off a business is an exciting time.
There is a great sense of pride that comes with working in a company that can create other successful businesses. So next time you think to rotate, examine whether a spin-off is another way to go.