Well its the end of an era. I’ve known Mark Lavelle back from when he first walked into the PreImagine event at the Hard Rock cafe (I feel like it was 2014) and I said hallo then as I recall proceeded to ask him not to destroy the ecosystem. The Hard Rock conf was a turning point for Magento — they tried to go very eBay Enterprise at that conf and there was a big kick back from the ecosystem to say hey remember Magento.
I remember though at the end of the conf I passed Mark in the corridor and he really could have just carried on walking, but he didn’t, he came over to me and said something along the lines of ‘look I’m listening’. Well that’s really all you can ask for. I still thought he didn’t have a clue about the ecosystem, but I did see a person of integrity standing there.
Further backed up then I believe by the research after the Magento split was that the USP of Magento was indeed its ecosystem. It is second to none in the platform space. Now many of us have spread our wings into other platforms and areas, yet we remain solid partners, with a respect and appreciation for those around us, even those we don’t see eye to eye with.
Mark Lavelle did understand the people, the businesses, the livelihoods, the passion and the ups and downs of a living breathing moving ecosystem. He also understood business, and he knew what he needed to do to deliver.
Mark and myself didn’t always agree, but I think we both understood each other’s viewpoint, and more importantly why we were there. I will say as well, never once did I hear anyone say anything negative re Mark. I heard he was highly respected within Magento, and never ‘elitist’. He didn’t need to give a damn in many situations, but he did, and he fought at times for this ecosystem I know that. He saw finally through his own eyes what a number of us see, he got it.
Look everyone knew Magento would sell, it had to, it was never going to go to IPO. And its had a great run, some of us have been in this space now 11 years, its giving us a lot, and not many technologies last this long, and none have the people within like Magento.
For me I was pleased when Magento sold to Adobe as I then knew what was happening — I could build around that. With Mark Lavelle, well I’ll miss him of course, but this is business, we have customers to deal with, companies to build, it was obvious he would go, and in some ways its better now so that we can build for tomorrow.
Some people say Magento is over. It is not over, its transforming. This is a transition year. Is it the last Imagine? I don’t know, but we should understand the chapter has turned, just like it did when eBay bought it and then again when it went standalone again. Every Imagine we should treat as our last, we should relish the here and the now, whilst being positive about our future wherever that may be.
The ecommerce landscape has changed. There are many more players, and you know what one platform doesn’t suit all and that’s okay. What we need now IMO is collaboration, partnership, a mutual respect for what each other does, and a willingness to double down on doing our job — delivering great technology and solutions to enable our merchants success.
What do I want to do? I want to take on Amazon with the merchants, I want to bring the world within our reach because its a beautiful rich world, full of unique people, unique businesses and unique stories. Thank you Lavelle for touching on my own story, and thank you for listening to the ecosystem when it most needed you. Thank you for giving a damn. Now go bloody relax, then change something, because we truly have only just begun in the tech space, there is so much more we can and should do, and do now.
New Dawn, new day. Bring it on.
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