Before I introduce myself, I first want to highlight a monumental day in our company’s story. Today, we begin writing a new chapter under a new company name. We’ve decided to name the entire company after our flagship product, the ultra-popular GitKraken Client. Why make this move now? It’s much more than a cosmetic name change. Today ushers in the next phase in our evolution – one in which we will become the premier provider of Git tools for developers around the world.

Want proof that it’s more than skin deep? Here’s a quick recap of the major changes and milestones from the past 78 days:

• Made the first two acquisitions in GitKraken’s 7-year history, adding the teams, products and customers of Git Integration for Jira and GitLens to the fold.
• Added millions of new users who rely on our suite of tools to make Git work for developers, rather than requiring developers to adapt to Git’s (ahem) idiosyncrasies.
• More than doubled the size of our team, from 40 people to 90+ awesome, driven individuals, including new members from across North America, South America, Europe and Asia.
• Added a new CTO (Eric Amodio from GitLens), a new General Manager (Adam Wride from Git Integration for Jira), a new VP of Engineering (Ross Wheeler) and a new CEO (hello).

Yet, even with all that new (and that’s a whole lotta new), the backbone of this company is its long-time employees. It’s rare to join a team that has so many employees in every group who have been with the company for 5 years… 7 years… 10+ years. These people have vast expertise, and the passion to match. So while we’ve added a lot of new ideas, methodologies, and know-how in the past few months, it’s our long-time employees that will help us stay connected to our past, execute in the present, and plan for an even bigger, brighter future.

Lastly, for anyone who’s curious about how I approach my role as a leader and an entrepreneur – how I hope to grow GitKraken – here are a few of my pillars after 20+ years as a CEO and CMO, building teams, cultures and startups in NYC and Boston:

1. No shortcuts. We will take the long view on our investments in culture, customers, and our products. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and we’re building the company and our products for the long run. With that said, we want to move fast to ensure our tools continue to keep up with (or even get out in front of) the needs of millions of developers around the world. Beyond that, we want to have an incredibly high say:do ratio, both with our customers and with each other.
2. Focus on people. This begins with our team members, and carries through to our customers and partners. I appreciate how GitKraken enables developers to try before they buy; to use our products for free; to not talk to anyone unless they want to. But I also believe in investing heavily in creating amazing experiences. That may mean doubling down on product design, white glove support, educational programs, community interaction, or in-product help. However we solve it, we will create intuitive, powerful tools that work for developers on their terms, wherever, whenever, and however they need us. 
3. Go fast. Yeah, everyone says they want to go fast. But only when a team truly has ownership, feels challenged and supported, and is connected to their customers can they move forward at unreal speeds. One of the keys to going fast is to stay locked in on what’s important. So what we say “no” to will be incredibly important to enable our teams to conceive, build, and ship great products.
4. Create community. Our first priority for customers is to create great products that make their work easier and their results better. But even beyond our products, I’m a strong believer in creating communities that add value to our professional lives. With more than 10 million developers around the world using our products, I believe GitKraken is uniquely positioned to build a true community that helps developers find answers, connections, and opportunities. Stay tuned on this front.
5. Do well and do good. Our tools are relied upon each week by millions of developers from 100,000 organizations worldwide. We help them work on massive problems like climate change, space travel, curing disease, artificial intelligence, modernized education, as well as digital and physical security. We help them build small businesses and power local communities. We want to do our small part to help developers of every stripe build a brighter future that benefits us all.

Check in on us every now and then. Or keep up with the latest on Twitter. It’s going to be a fun ride!