It’s time for something new.

So, that’s what I’m doing.

Friday, January 13 will be my final day at my agency, Possible Worldwide (formally Bridge Worldwide) after almost five years. I’ve had a tremendous set of opportunities and I’ve learned more than I imagined was possible. Who knew this digital marketing stuff could be so complicated?

Possible has grown a lot since I started in 2007 when it was Bridge Worldwide and I was employee number 106. Since then, the Cincinnati office has grown and merged with other companies to form a network with more than 1,200 people. It’s been a positive experience and one which I’ll always value. 

While it was a smaller company when I started, it’s now quite the opposite. And while still not the size of GE, 1,200 people still makes for a different company than 100. Ironically, the thought of coming to work for a small company after 11 years at AstraZeneca (with more than 25,000 employees) scared me at first. 

But rather than a negative, I found that the smaller group was something that worked really well for me and could deliver amazing results. Rather than working hard to move up the corporate ladder to get an office with a door and a window, Bridge showed me the benefit of having no offices. Turns out you get more done by simply yelling across the room than having to walk down the hall.

Since I started, I’ve spent a lot of time learning about digital marketing and technology and I’ve combined that with my passion and background in healthcare. That resulted in my blog, Dose of Digital, and speaking engagements all around the world. I’ve found that this area of healthcare can be a really exciting, but also really frustrating, as the pace of change is very slow. I’m still waiting to see some of the predictions I offered years ago come true. At the same time, it’s been rewarding to hear from the many people who say they’ve learned something from my writing or presentations. 

But like I said, it’s time for something new.

I’m now headed off to something totally different. I’m moving from a large (medium?) sized company to a small one. And I’m headed to the world of startups. It’s something I’ve been thinking about doing for a while and didn’t know when it might make sense. Well, the right opportunity just made itself apparent and I’m going to follow it. SO, starting Monday, January 16, you can find me at Zipscene.

Zipscene is a startup company in Cincinnati that has created a digital marketing platform that’s focused on the restaurant industry. I’ll be leading marketing and product development to help shape the future offerings of the company.

So, as you can probably figure out based on what Zipscene does, I’m getting out of the healthcare industry for now. Maybe I’ll return someday and I certainly plan to keep up-to-date with what’s happening. It’s still something that I’m passionate about and will be hard to completely walk away from.

For those wondering about what will happen with Dose of Digital, it will likely continue in some form going forward. The blog is owned by Possible, so we’re figuring out the best way to keep it going. I can say for sure that I won’t be the sole author, but will try to contribute from time to time. Stay tuned to the blog for an announcement with some more details. In the meantime, thank you to everyone who supported the blog over the past few years and made it as successful and popular as it is today. I’m grateful and honored that you spent your limited time reading and listening to what I had to say.

Going forward, you’ll be able to find me on this blog (and in a few more places…stay tuned). I’ll be writing all about my experiences as I move into the startup world. You’ll also probably see some guest posts along the way from some others. So, if you’ve ever been interested in startups, check back every so often. I’ll share what I’m learning (good and bad) and hope to pass along some insights you can use along the way. You can read the explanation of the title of this blog (“Starting Up and Away”) if you care where I came up with it.

I look forward to catching up with you here, on Twitter, or email (jonmrich [@] gmail.com). Be sure to stay in touch, and make sure I don’t miss anything big in the world of healthcare.

Best Regards,

Jonathan

Jonathan Richman is the creator of Starting Up and Away and works at Zipscene. You can find him on Twitter and here's his official Google+ profile.