Some news...we've been acquired!
The show must go on
Hello everyone!
Earlier in March, I wrote this piece letting you all know why this newsletter had got a bit quieter.
I shared a bit about an unexpected loss in my life and how that had led me to wanting to shift my focus towards more personal writing. A pivot, or more so an arc, from how companies grow to how we as people can grow. An area I’ve been feeling a strong pull towards.
And as that writing just doesn’t quite fit into the How They Grow universe, I spun up a different newsletter…Good Times.
When I posted that announcement, there was so much support from all of you. And as I’ve been publishing over at Good Times, I’m feeling (and seeing) really good writer-theme fit. I’m incredibly grateful.
But that announcement also did something else…it got my friend Bill Kerr thinking. You’ve all met Bill across a few How They Grow posts. We’ve co-written some stuff, he’s guest posted here, and I’ve also done a deep dive on his rapidly growing startup, Athyna. A startup I actually invested a small amount in.
Bill and I have oddly similar stories. We’ve both founded and grown talent-marketplaces, have seen an exit, and most importantly, we both write similar newsletters focusing on longer-form deep dives on companies, their stories, product building, strategy, and growth.
We also both love the outdoors and being surrounded by lots of plants and green!
Bill’s newsletter, Open Source CEO, has grown tremendously over the past few years to over 100K readers by sharing real and tactical stories from his active startup journey, interviewing founders, and like me, doing deep research on exciting companies. Bill’s writing is entertaining, evidence-based but also perspective-driven, and helpful 100% of the time to founders and product builders. He cares tremendously about his readers and has built a ton of trust in his community. He’s built a ton of trust with me.
His goal for his readers with Open Source CEO is almost identical to mine with How They Grow.
So, when Bill heard I was pausing How They Grow indefinitely to keep writing for all of you (about something else) elsewhere, he reached out with a proposal that made a ton of sense to me.
Bill, and his newsletter, have acquired How They Grow.
There really couldn’t be a better fit that ensures you keep getting the company-building value you initially joined How They Grow for.
There are very few hands I’d trust to keep you entertained and informed, and truly, the goodwill and trust I’ve built with all of you is of the utmost importance to me. And I can say with confidence, Bill is a legend, friend, a How They Grow early reader, and a writer who I know will keep bringing you great content.
Okay, so here’s what it means:
Firstly, HowTheyGrow.com will continue to exist right here with all the existing content. This has been a super important project for me, I’ve had fun building the brand, and I want the deep dives and posts I’ve written to continue existing as artifacts. They will always be here, as resources or points of reference, and will always be free.
To everyone who was a paid subscriber, that HTG subscription has been paused already for a few months now since I’ve been inactive. You haven’t been charged, and won’t be charged. Bill’s newsletter is also free. There’s nothing you need to do.
To everyone, over the next few weeks, there will be an interim introduction phase to Bill and Open Source CEO. Bill will send you a few short emails saying hi and showing you some of his best content. If you don’t like what you’re seeing—which I doubt—you can simply hit Unsubscribe.
I really do believe this is the best step forward for 2 reasons:
This isn’t any type of goodbye. My energy here just needed to be moved to where I felt it needed to be, to where I think I now have more leverage to help, and where I’m lucky enough to still be writing for you over at Good Times (I’ll see you in the next post!)
All value generated up until this point remains exactly as it is.
And most importantly, with the best fit possible—to someone who has the energy needed to do this deep work—it ensures the value you came to expected here at How They Grow is resumed, and continues to compound for you.
I’ve learned so much across these deep dives and have made many friends through it. It’s been one of the most important projects I’ve done, and now we get to continue the momentum in the best way possible. For you, for Bill, and for me.
If you have any questions at all, I’m just an email away: hermannjaryd@gmail.com.
Stay tuned, Bill will likely pop in with a hello in the next week or so.
Until the next Good Times letter.
— Jaryd
My understanding of businesses, products, and growth grew a million times after I started reading your articles. Thank you.
Nice work my friend. What a great little piece of internet art you created with How They Grow. Amazing stuff.