Never Say Die

Flashback to January 2017. The world was in a precarious state after the 2016 election, various world conflicts, and many other 'bad for business' conditions. 2017 was also the year Tintri went public (after three days of IPO delays), and we landed with a resounding thud. Our ship was sailing through murky and dangerous waters, circled by schools of lawyers, Wall Street Financiers, and IP sharks eagerly waiting (and in most cases pushing) for us to sink into the abyss. In short, there were a ton of holes in the boat…

Perhaps the market had spoken. Was the universe conspiring against us? Should we have cashed in our chips? Abandon our efforts, customers, and partners? Nope. A core group of Tintri employees KNEWour technology was revolutionary in nature. We understood the massive pain that it solved, its ease of use, incredible performance, and cloud mobility. We knew the intelligent predictive analytical functions were very much needed and in high demand.

In other words, our customers, our partners, and our teams are die hard Tintri fanatics. We refused to let this happen. Never say die.

Whilst deep in the process of sorting our financial and organizational problems, I had an encounter with DDN co-founders Paul Bloch and Alex Bouzari. They had discussed the possibility of having me join the DDN sales organization. After a brief reverse pitch, the DDN executive team immediately saw the opportunity and potential of Tintri. After a lengthy acquisition process, DDN fully acquired Tintri and set off to re-establish its brand. In September of 2018, we re-launched Tintri as a DDN company.

The chaos ignited by the bankruptcy revealed Tintri's true strength as a platform. It only took one quarter after the acquisition before we stabilized and returned to profitability. Our pre-bankruptcy customer base continues to grow their Tintri platform to this day. This speaks volumes about what Tintri as a composable VM platform has to offer. The market recognized that our products and services could not be replicated elsewhere.

In the face of impossible odds and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, there is always a path forward. With the proper motivation and focus, temporary failure does not mean the end… Tintri continues to thrive and grow, despite the massive obstacle that has been around for 18 months and counting. If anything should have been impossible it was the sale and ongoing success of Tintri and DDN.

Always remember that the future is unwritten. There is always a way up and out of whatever hole one finds oneself in.

If it's the right thing to do, do it.

Never say die.

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