Written by co-founder Dan Shaikh on August 24th, 2018, his last day at his job.
My last day at work. It's official, and I can't believe it. I'm grateful to have worked five years for such a great organization, and I'll miss the people the most.
I gave in my resignation two weeks ago after what seemed like the biggest emotional decision of my life. This was my first job out of university.
There were doubts in my head, fear, and anxiety. But every day I woke up, I thought about giving more time to my business, Speaker Slam®. I couldn't balance it anymore, especially with what I wanted to put in.
A month ago, No Risk, No Reward happened. I watched our speakers rock the stage on the very subject I needed to hear. I was so moved and inspired that I had to make a change.
A week later, I jumped into the unknown. Excited and anxious as this chapter closes and a new one begins, and ready to join my partner in crime, Rina Rovinelli, who had already gone all in, full time.
What Came Next
Rina had already made the leap; Dan was the second to go all in. As he wrote five years later: "In 2018 we quit our jobs to fill out the Jane Mallett Theatre with 500 people. It was one of the riskiest decisions Rina and I had ever made."
That theatre was the 2018 Grand Slam, Speaker Slam®'s first year-end finals in a proper theatre, held at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts that November. Five years after that, Dan and Rina sat in the same theatre watching Speaker Slam® alum Mike Shoreman's documentary premiere.
Read the whole journey in The Evolution of Speaker Slam®.