Why Leave Appsian and Start Mutara?

In 2005 -- following Oracle’s successful acquisition of PeopleSoft -- my colleagues (Brian Sparling, Chris Heller) and I were feeling disillusioned with our careers and the direction we saw the enterprise software space going. With little more than a vague concept of what we felt customers needed and a feeling that we could build something that could fill that need, we started the company that is now Appsian.

Fast forward to today, and this company has grown to become one of the strongest players in this space.

• 150% growth in revenue in 2018
• 64 Employees
• Offices in Dallas, San Ramon, and Bangalore
• Over 200 customers
• Unprecedented customer satisfaction rate

But, probably the most notable aspect is the strength of the team. Between the CEO and leaders of sales, engineering, marketing, support/services, QA, and IT; I haven’t worked with a stronger team of people at any point in my career.

So, why not continue to take the ride?

Good question.  And, the answer is directly related to what I just mentioned.  The team at Appsian.  Creating a company is much more than coming up with an idea, creating a product, and taking it to market. If you’re really successful, that company takes on a life of its own.  And, if you can assemble a team of people who (1) can drive the company to new levels, and (2) are able to use their experiences to build careers that are both satisfying and enable personal growth then you’ve accomplished something special.

In my early days of PeopleSoft, I remember having a number of discussions with one of the people who eventually founded Workday – he told me that one of his goals as an entrepreneur was to continuously work himself out of a job.  By doing this, he was able to give his employees opportunities that they might not otherwise have.

Appsian is on the threshold of accomplishing amazing things – and they can accomplish them without me – and that’s a great thing!