Share

Many of you may have been wondering, “What happened to NodeSource?”, a company that seemed so solid in the Node.js ecosystem, suddenly there was a restructuring of the organization and many of our staff were impacted. There were a lot of questions and rumors about what is going on.

The last four weeks have been difficult, and at times shocking to all of us. The good news is that based on the tireless work of some very dedicated and committed individuals a plan came together that we are excited about. This blog post attempts to answer some of the questions that people have been asking us, what has changed and what you can expect from us in the future.

Is NodeSource shutting down?

The answer is: No!

NodeSource has done a remarkable job in the past, and we still have many reasons to continue with the company, including:

• Open Source work: From the beginning, NodeSource has greatly contributed to the Node.js community. Employees have spent a great amount of time on the Node.js project, Node.js Binary Distributions, Understanding Npm project, Docker-node, among others. Also, it has sponsored, participated and contributed to multiple community events such as JSConf, NodeConf and Node+JS Interactive. We are excited to continue and even amplify our contributions to the open source community.

• NSolid: NSolid provides unparalleled visibility and security for mission-critical Node.js applications. It’s a drop-in alternative to the Node.js runtime, enhanced to deliver low-impact performance insights and greater security for Node.js apps. Many companies and individuals use and love NSolid as their primary runtime and it’s a great product with a lot of potential, shutting it down would not only greatly impact its users but throw away a valuable technology with a bright future.

• Our mission: Our mission is to empower organizations and developers to create highly performant, secure and reliable modern applications and microservices built on top of Node.js. We deeply believe in our mission, which also involves community support, Node.js training, consulting and open source.

So, the company is not shutting down; it has refocused its efforts on supporting the community, our customers and our core product offering.

So what happened to some of the great talent affected by these decisions?

There are 3 main things that make a company great and successful: the people, the product and the purpose.

The product: NodeSource's products have always been top-notch. The engineering behind NSolid is first-class and our open source work has been recognized by the community and customers.

In this case, the product was not the problem.

The reasons that led to the layoffs were related to the purpose and the people. The company’s focus had grown too broad and too fast with the best of intentions. We managed to accomplish a lot of important objectives thanks to a ton of really great people; but ultimately it wasn't sustainable. This became apparent in late August/ early September and the company’s leadership acted accordingly. Many of our great people were let go, but some of us weren’t ready to give up just yet.

The company needed to reset its focus, and difficult decisions had to be made, but NodeSource’s core mission, technology and product continue to be of significant value. With the right focus and partner, our impact and business could thrive again. In other words, NodeSource needed a change, and it involved a change in the purpose and the people. NodeSource found a partner that allowed us to do exactly that; focus on what matters most at this stage of our business.

The purpose: the original purpose of NodeSource was a commitment to the customers, excellence in work, connection with the team, and a desire to support the community and foundation. Somewhere along the way, the purpose changed, but right now, we are returning to the core of why the company exists in the first place.

The people: In order to achieve our renovated purpose, NodeSource needed to restructure the size of the company. Some very talented folks were affected by the restructuring and will be missed, and the company will continue to support them in whatever they do next. We are truly sorry for everyone who was affected but we are reassured in the fact that they go on to do great things. Also, the community reacted kindly with all the people laid off. Thank you for that.

This is a step in the Hero’s Journey, involving an adventure, a decisive crisis, and a transformation that leads to victory. This was our crisis and the moment to make changes, to ask ourselves who we are and where we want to go. Just like in the Hero’s Journey, we return, humbled and committed to new challenges, acknowledging our mistakes and looking forward to the future.

We are fortunate to have retained a core team across key areas including Technology, Product, and Support. We've been working together for a long time and are excited to drive the company forward.

Some of the employees (including me) were called back to the company after the acquisition. The things that were not working have changed, the mission renovated and there is a great energy for the upcoming challenges! We are all very excited.

I heard you sold the company, is that true?

Yes, the company was acquired and is now a part of i2.

i2 is a holding company based in Seattle, led by a group of technology veterans that believe in the product and core mission of NodeSource.

I heard you had previously raised a lot of money from VC's, are you still a VC backed company?

That's true, NodeSource was backed by a number of venture firms and that helped us get to this stage. But we are no longer engaged with these firms and are privately held. This change supports our refocus on the core mission.

What updates are you planning for the product?

Node 12 support is top of the list, we have been heavily focused on that as there are so many major updates to address. We are also working on a number of other features we expect to announce this quarter 🎉

Are you hiring?

We are always looking for great talent that is passionate about our mission, please reach out to hr@nodesource.com

What’s next?

NodeSource has gone through some changes and has reset its focus, our team remains committed to our mission and we are excited about the future. If you have any questions, or if you want to send us some words of love, please send us a DM on twitter or contact contact@nodesource.com #Resurrected #NextChapter

---

Some words of love

“I’m excited and energized to see NodeSource return to its focus from our beginnings back in 2014: the belief in the power of Node.js as a transformational technology, the value of the people that make it possible and the amazing, global community we’ve had the privilege to be part of. The future of Node.js and NodeSource is bright and I’ll be supporting the next phase of the company’s growth”. - Joe McCann

“Since its inception, NodeSource has always bet on the Node.js community, and it's going to always have a big space in my heart for not only helping us grow the Colombian JavaScript and Node.js community but also for trusting and believing in our talent and investing in building a great team there” - Julián Duque

“I'm extremely happy to see NodeSource able to continue on. They've been a critical and important piece of the overall Node.js and JavaScript ecosystem and have contributed so much. I'm looking forward to continuing to work with the entire team and seeing what amazing things we can do." James Snell, Head of Research at NearForm

“NodeSource gave me the opportunity to grow into the Enterprise realm of Node.js. Facing tough challenges with world-scale customers using my favorite JavaScript platform was a dream come true, and from the looks of it, this was only the beginning!” - Julián Gruber