The end of a 12 year journey

For the second time in my career, I am starting something new.

The first time was shortly after I finished my masters at LSE in 2012. I moved to Washington, D.C. to join a tiny business media startup called Industry Dive.

I wasn't particularly interested in journalism or B2B media; I simply wanted to learn how to start and grow a business. And what an education I received.

Industry Dive had only been around about 11 months when I first walked in the door. At that time, there were 3 founders, 2 full-time employees, and a couple of interns.

Over the next 12 years, the business grew from 2 staff members to over 400. The newsroom alone swelled to more than 100 journalists. We went from 3 publication brands to 37, from several thousand readers to 16M+, and from 6 figures in annual revenue to nearly 9. We conducted at least 4 acquisitions, were acquired twice, and experienced a fairly large merger. We had offices in DC, NY, London, and Dhaka. In DC, we worked in 5 different headquarters and moved 4 times – from Dupont to Chinatown to McPherson to the West End and, finally, to a WeWork in Midtown Center.

It was a marathon that started out with a sprint. For the first few years, I wore many hats – social media manager, ad operations specialist, graphic designer, editorial data viz designer, photojournalist, product designer, product manager, and front-end web developer. I even had bylines on several of our publications. It was a fun, exhausting, and intense period of professional growth.

Over time, each of my roles became someone else's full-time job, and I focused on building Industry Dive's design department. The department handled product design (UI/UX), newsroom visuals, brand & marketing design, and multimedia/design work for clients. Between 2013-17, we also did the front-end development of the company's websites and email newsletters.

Starting with a first hire in 2014, the department grew to 3 teams, 22 full-time staff, and a large network of freelancers. In 2024, one of these teams – our content studio group – completed 1,300 multimedia/design projects for Industry Dive clients.

We all worked together in-person at first and then remote after March 2020. At one point, we had design team members living in 6 different time zones.

On December 2nd 2024, Industry Dive’s story came to a close when our Informa division – Informa Tech – merged with Massachusetts-based TechTarget to form a new and much larger media company – Informa TechTarget.

As the curtains draw on Industry Dive, a new chapter begins in my own career.

I will share more on what's next for me in the coming weeks.

Sean, Ryan, and Eli – Thank you for letting me join you on your entrepreneurial journey. You built a strong business and fostered a remarkable company culture. I appreciate that you always made an effort to lead with transparency.

Industry Dive designers – I am so lucky I had the opportunity to spend more than a decade with you. You made me excited to go to the office for the first seven years and join video calls for the last five.

All other Industry Dive coworkers – There are too many of you to individually recognize. I will just say thank you for making ID a fantastic place to work. The ID culture was something really special.

Below are just a few of 100s of memories from my 12 years at Industry Dive...

When I joined Industry Dive in late 2012, we worked in a tiny office in a converted row house in Dupont. We shared our floor with the Albanian embassy.

In the early days, there was always a new problem to solve. Not enough space for another desk? We can figure that out.

Some of the problems you would never expect. One day, we discovered that EducationDive.com – one of our publication websites – had been entirely cloned. The person who did this was even trying to sell ads on the fraudulent site!

Another morning, the office wifi went out. It took several hours to uncover the issue. When a team member put their lunch in the mini-fridge in the office closet, they accidentally pulled out a modem cable with their foot!

In 2013, the founders hosted an all-hands picnic in Dupont Circle to brainstorm new product ideas. Later that year, we hit a goal and went on a Segway "tour" (spinning and racing?) around downtown DC.

By 2015, we ran out of room in Dupont and packed up the office. We moved to a new location in DC's Chinatown. This space was previously Sweetgreen's first corporate headquarters. Sadly, they didn't leave us any food.

One of Industry Dive's traditions was that every staff member had to assemble their own office furniture. I vividly remember a coworker who decided to run and jump on their newly built chair. Unfortunately, they hadn't attached all of the pieces properly. A couple of wheels shot out, and the chair slow-motion tipped over, spilling the person onto the floor. I'll give them points for the roll they did, though!

In our Chinatown office, staff members could bring in their dogs. We kept a calendar of who was visiting next.

It was also in this office where I and a small group of coworkers worked to craft Industry Dive's first mission statement and set of core values.

To help the business attract new talent, I partnered with Davide Savenije, Industry Dive's future editor-in-chief, to write and film a welcome video. Watch this and tell me you wouldn't want to work there.

In mid-2016, we started to experiment with photojournalism. I tagged along with Waste Dive to capture photos for a piece about recycling in DC and toured the National Museum of African American History and Culture, then under construction, with Construction Dive.

2016 was also the first year Industry Dive was recognized by the Washington Post as a Top Work Place in DC. We won the award several times after that too.

By the end of 2016, we ran out of room in Chinatown and put everything in boxes again. Our next move was to an office near McPherson Square, two blocks from the White House.

In 2017, we spent several months designing and debating options for a new company logo.

Although dogs weren't allowed in the McPherson office, we still managed to have fun. We continued to host an annual Halloween costume competition and a fall pie contest.

When the Pandemic began, Industry Dive's 135 staff transitioned to full-time remote work. That was the last time we all worked together every day in person.

In mid-2020, Industry Dive did a "carve out" acquisition of a NY-based business called NewsCred. The part of NewsCred that was carved out was its content marketing studio, including 40 staff. The NewsCred teams that joined us as part of the deal were based in NY, London, and Dhaka. Overnight, Industry Dive became a global business. We eventually rented small offices in all three cities.

In 2022, we packed up the McPherson office and moved to a new location in DC's West End. Industry Dive had invested in building out this space in anticipation of returning to in-person work.

For better or worse, a significant number of employees had relocated by the time we moved to the West End. A majority of staff were now permanently remote – living an hour or more commute from an office.

The West End office was...pretty empty.

On a handful of occasions, everyone was able to travel to DC and get together. These times were fantastic.

In 2022, Industry Dive was acquired by UK-based media and events conglomerate Informa. Two years later, we downsized from our large but underutilized West End space to a WeWork office in Midtown Center with about 65 desks.

In December of 2024, our Informa division – Informa Tech – merged with Massachusetts-based TechTarget. With this round of M&A, the marathon finally came to a close.

I'll end by sharing a few screenshots of the Industry Dive websites and newsletters over the years.

Here are some of the changes we made to Industry Dive's publication websites.

Here are some of the changes we made to Industry Dive's corporate website.

And, finally, here are some of the changes we made to Industry Dive's email newsletters.

Thanks for the memories, Industry Dive.