I wanted to share a significant milestone for Pacvue. Rahul Choraria is appointed our new CEO and I will be transitioning to the role of Executive Chairman of Pacvue. My focus going forward is leading our board and supporting Rahul on our long-term strategy and vision.
I met Rahul 3+ years ago. Advent had recently invested in Assembly (now Pacvue) and Rahul was our Operating Partner. Within a few months of working together, it became clear to me we needed to find a way to get him at our company full-time. Thanks to a strong partnership with Eric Wei and Jeff Case we were able to make this happen.
The impact Rahul has had on our business as COO has been immeasurable. I’ve always believed that for Pacvue to achieve our long-term goals, everyone must put the company’s success over individual interests. Our team has embodied this mindset and the result has been an incredibly resilient company. When I reflected on this principle, I recognized that it also applies to my own situation. The more time I spent with Rahul, the clearer it became. Rahul is the best person to lead this next phase of growth.
Taking a step back, the idea to start Assembly (now Pacvue) came to be when Adam Crawshaw and I were eating tacos at a hole-in-the-wall taqueria in LA. Over tacos and margaritas, we talked for hours about the company we wanted to build. I remember telling Adam that I wanted to do 3 things:
- I wanted to build something significant
- I wanted to wake up every day feeling excited about coming to work
- I wanted to build something in a way that would make my family proud
As I reflect on that conversation, 6+ years later:
- We’ve grown from 2 guys with an idea to 700+ people globally. We’ve been profitable since our inception and have 4x’ed our revenue over the last 4 years.
- Quoting my alma mater Michigan’s legendary coach, Jim Harbaugh, I’ve had the good fortune of being able to wake up everyday with an Enthusiasm Unknown to Mankind.
- Most importantly, my kids have watched us build this company and always try to lead with our people first. We’ve made our fair share of mistakes but we’ve always tried to put the business and our team above everything else.
While I can’t possibly list all of the great people I’ve had the chance to work with and learn from, I wanted to give a shoutout to Perry Wallack, Melissa Burdick, Jordan Weitzen, Samantha Tepper, Benjamin Collier, Ben Warner, Lorraine Heber-Brause, Bojan Gajic, Zhaohui Tang, Kay Lee and many more.
It would be impossible to thank everyone who has helped but I do know this company wouldn’t exist without the belief and unequivocal support from Matthew Stone, Adam Marcus, Bogdan Cenanovic & the entire PSG team.
Most importantly it wouldn’t be possible for me to be consumed by building this business without the support and sacrifices made by my amazing wife Gunjan Kella.
I am so pumped for this next chapter for Pacvue. It’s going to be even bigger and better than the last!
#Pacvue
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