Adaptive Path makes me happy. So does Google.

First, read these: Google buys Measure Map.

Last week, I was a guest speaker at Stanford’s Entrepreneurial Thought Leadership seminar. There, with a hundred undergrad entrepreneurs-to-be eagerly listening to my tales of success and failure, I realized something: I love Adaptive Path. I’ve started four businesses in the past ten years, from venture-funded behemoths to idealistic crusades. With AP, it seems I finally got it right. Or rather, with seven founding partners and now 22 staff, it’s more honest to say that we did.

It’s not the money (my salary certainly isn’t the highest). It’s not the offices (Ideo has nicer space). It’s not the people – well, yes, it is the people. But the people are all here for the same reason: There’s no company in the world like Adaptive Path.

Here are some of the things I’ve been told You Can’t Do: You can’t start a company with seven partners. You can’t find good people. You can’t start a business during an economic nadir.

Last June, I had a wise and experienced friend take me to coffee and tell me very sincerely that Adaptive Path can’t make a software product. My response to him was simple – I’m not afraid of failure. We try a lot of things. Sometimes they fail. Often they succeed. You learn a lot from failure, so we keep trying – carefully, with open acknowledgement of the risk – and that makes us happy enough and prosperous enough that we love coming to work.

I’m super proud to be part of AP. I’m sorry I’ve been out of touch with you all, but the experience of making and selling Measure Map has been intense, tiring and validating for everyone at the company. And it has strengthened the AP team like few experiences could have.

To Jeff: It’s been great being your partner. I’ll miss you.
To the MM team: Well done, you rock!
To Google: Take good care of my guys and their product.
To my detractors who would interpret this as a self-aggrandizing marketing ploy: This is my personal weblog. Don’t be so cynical.