Taking my Mule hat off and starting something new
It's a big day today. After two and a half years I've decided to transition out of my operating role at MuleSource and will be devoting my full time efforts to a new company I have been working on. It's clear that I am a glutton for start-up punishment.
I met with the board and the senior leadership team today and we all agreed the timing is right. We have a great new VP of Sales, and a new VP of Services along with the existing team. I initiated a CEO search in June and we expect to have a new person in place by the end of the year at the latest.
I started the search because I felt like a more "professional" CEO would be able to take the company to the next level--basically I felt like the opportunity was bigger than me and wanted to grow faster. Now that all the pieces are coming together I feel like I can step out cleanly, setting the stage for continued growth.
It's tough to let go away of something that you spent so much time on, but I feel good about where the company is and what I am doing next.
When Ross and I started the company in 2006 we felt like we had a "good idea". Fortunately the market has agreed and with tens of thousands of Mule instances in production worldwide, it's clear that the product works and people love it.
I completely believe in the Mule products and open source, and I need the company to be successful (remember I am still a large shareholder so don't expect me to go negative on the company) but the time has come to do something new.
The new company will be in stealth mode for a little while, but if you read my blog consistently you should be able to glean some clues.
Dave Rosenberg dishes up "Software, Interrupted" with nearly 15 years of technology and marketing experience that spans from Bell Labs to multiple start-up IPOs to open-source enterprise software companies. He is co-founder of MuleSource and currently serves as the general manager of Hardy Way. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can contact Dave via e-mail at softwareinterrupted@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @daveofdoom. 
Muffins?
congrats on all that you did to launch MuleSource. You guys are at the top of the heap in this space and you and Ross both made it happen. Keep us posted on your next venture. Online open source gaming muffins sound awesome.
--Zack