Until today it has been my practice to avoid directly discussing the companies in which I have invested. That is not because I have nothing to say about them. I could write a whole other blog about them. Nor is it because I am not enthusiastic about the businesses they're in. I am wildly enthusiastic about all of the businesses in which I have invested — that's why I invested in them. But it has never struck me as that relevant or interesting to the VentureBlog readers. But for every well-reasoned rule there is an equally well-reasoned exception. Thus, please forgive me for heralding my latest investment on VentureBlog. It almost seems inappropriate not to blog about this one.
It is with great pleasure that I write about having invested in Six Apart. As many of you know, Six Apart is the maker of Movable Type and TypePad. Since its inception, VentureBlog has been powered by Movable Type. It is a wonderfully powerful piece of software that embodies the simplicity we have all come to expect from blogging software with the incredible flexibility and extensibility of the finest modern application software. I am also a big fan of TypePad, which powers my personal blog, SaysMe! TypePad is the yin to Movable Type's yang — it embodies the flexibility we have all come to expect from application software with the incredible simplicity and reliability of a rock solid hosted service. As I've said before, "I think that blogging software is revolutionizing the way people communicate–whether to share pictures with family members or distribute a product spec to an engineering team" and Six Apart is at the forefront of that revolution.
Of course, there's more to Six Apart than powerful software. As elegant as I think both Movable Type and TypePad are, to quote myself again, "it's the people, stupid!" The Six Apart team is phenomenal and getting better every week. I don't invest in products or ideas or business models. I invest in entrepreneurs. And Ben and Mena and Barak and Andrew and Loic and Michael . . . and the list goes on . . . are some of the most dedicated, smart, creative, persistent, honest entrepreneurs I've had the good fortune to spend time with. It is my great pleasure to join the Six Apart Board and help build what I believe will be a hugely successful and influential company in the months and years to come.