 and we are live. And live possibly for the last time here at Reclaim Hosting with Lauren as a full-time employee, and one can dream that this won't be the last time, but I think that as far as we know at this juncture, this will be. So Meredith and I really wanted to kind of bring Lauren into a stream and just kind of do a proper farewell, if you will, and talk a little bit about, we just came from a meeting where we were all celebrating Lauren and trying to say our goodbyes, but kind of bringing that a little bit live because you have a big community who you've worked with over the last eight years in your time at Reclaim and you've had a big impact on a lot of people. So maybe we can use the stream as a moment for Meredith and I to reflect with you on your farewell. That sounds great. Yeah, thank you for having me. And I guess setting this up, it feels a little surreal today, you know? Bittersweet. It's verytersweet. Just everything you've done over the last eight years, 2015 to 2023 has been, been super cool. Honestly, we would not be here without you too. Like we talk about like the team effort and everything all the time and like being able to build the team as we go and like being there from the beginning is something very special. No, it's been an honor to be, to help, or to have a part in building what Reclaim is today. You know, and yeah, we were just kind of reflecting with the team earlier, you know, but having a chance to, you know, being in support and spreading up servers and the early days and, you know, to troubleshoot and to help train in that way and then to jump more into, you know, account management and consultative training and, you know, diagnosing issues and then working with a dedicated team to support things. And then, you know, from there kind of growing more into like strategic operations for Reclaim a little bit and how can we grow intentionally and, you know, supporting the Reclaim team. So, you know, it's been a ride. Can I ask you a question, Lauren? Yes. So over the course of your time at Reclaim, because, you know, you said this again and again at presentations and just when we're on talks, like you've been here from early days, just like Meredith, 2015, if I'm right, you came in as part-time. And I'd be interested for you to maybe reflect a bit on, like, what has changed? Like, what have you seen as some of the changes in the company and, like, you know, your role in that, but also just like, you know, now kind of stepping out and getting ready to go on and do something else, reflecting back, like, have you thought through those changes? Have you kind of reflected a bit on what they've meant not only for your personal development but for the company too? Oh, gosh, that's a great question. I mean, you know, there's a ton that has changed, but in some ways, you know, I'm still really proud how much has stayed the same. And I think that has been, you know, such a huge focus for everyone, you know, that was maybe here in the earlier days is, like, really holding on to those values and the mission and the customer experience and, like, with every fiber, like, making sure that that doesn't change as Reclaims grows. And so that is almost more important, I think, is just remembering, like, and being able to see into the future and know, okay, things will shift, things will change, the technology will change, the people will come and go, but what can we do here and now to preserve what makes Reclaims special and to know that, like, people will always have that no matter what. And so that has been, like, such an important mission, I think, for me personally, like, no matter what my role has been at Reclaim is just to make sure, okay, any new employee that we bring on, any new school that we bring on, any new ticket that we get, or issue or emergency, like, we are all making decisions with the same goals in mind and with the same mission and drive. And so I'm really proud of what hasn't changed, actually, but I think, you know, what has changed, we've become more organized, you know? Certainly, since the beginning, we're more organized. You know, we have, you know, foundations and things that, you know, people can rely on. It's not in our heads any longer. It's not like, oh yeah, Jim's the only person that knows that. It relies on him 100%, you know? Everything at Reclaim now can function without a single person, you know? And there's redundancy that's been built in to the company, which is extremely important. And so I'm proud of that change. You know, I think we've had, through the years, standardized a lot of our products and services and just setups and, you know, things, you know, I think early on, and as we should have, you know, we were saying yes to everything. We were, and not that we don't do that now, but there's just more of a focus where we have, you know, we're able to predict a little bit more and, you know, foresee into the future now and go, okay, in 2024, 25, where does Reclaim need to be? And we're making decisions now and doing work now that impacts that. Whereas I think, you know, in 2015, 2016, it was like, let's just see what, like let's wait for those decisions to come to us a little bit, say yes to as much as possible and scale with the community and be what they need. And, you know, the shift is, you know, we're still listening to the community and still there and having a very collaborative relationship, but also able to still standardize and say, okay, this is the way we have to run domains for it to be successful or sustainable really. You know, this is the way that we have to run a WordPress multi-site server in order to be able to support it at scale. And so making decisions that can benefit every one long-term, you know, has been a huge shift as well. So maybe that's more than you wanted to know, but kind of my answer, I guess. It's a great answer, actually. And even in like, since I started to like in 2017, so you were two years behind, just seeing that shift of like, we're still in that support focus of like, we wanna help everybody and we wanna make sure that like, they have the good foundation of reclaiming to have that core value still present through as much growth as we've gotten over the last years has been like, like a great testament to it too. Yeah, because I mean, there's always gonna be new problems that come up or new scenarios, new issues, new error messages, like name it. There's always newness and change happening. And so, you know, onboarding a team and training up a team that knows how to make good decisions is the most important part because Meredith, you're never going to be able to make decisions for everyone or, you know, and no one else, you know, I'm not gonna be able to make decisions for everyone, but knowing like, okay, yeah, I trust the team that we have to go out and make good decisions based off of how reclaim functions and what the priorities are. And yeah, I think that's kind of the way you have to do it through those growing pains a little bit. Yeah, I agree. And I wonder if like, so as one of the things that came up that I'm interested in and like kind of like you both for the last X amount of years, like it's hard to kind of see outside of it when you're so deep in it, right? And like to distinguish, you know, some of those, but like when you talk about the sense of are working towards our mission and remembering where we started and what we did, like, like, if you were to define that, like what is it? Like if we're gonna try and really think about like not to turn this into a reclaim thing, this is about Lauren leading reclaims. I wanna be careful of that. But like, I think one of the things that has kept both of you here as long as we have, and I am thankful every day for that, you know, even as you move on, like we've gotten a lot of time and great time of your lives to kind of produce that. But like, what is that thing that we feel we wanna come to work for every day that we feel like this is not just a making the doughnuts, right? Cause sometimes it is making the doughnuts and sometimes it's like really, but like you come back. Right, I mean, there's always like the email inbox in the to-do list and the stuff that you just, you have to do because it's your job, right? But there's, you know, yeah, that feeling of being excited to come to work and feeling passionate and invested in the work that you're doing has been hugely important for reclaim and for my life for so long, you know, and I think it's just because the work that we're doing feels important, you know, empowering other people to learn online, you know, and to feel supported and encouraged. We were just talking about this in the last meeting too, but you know, whether you're working with, you know, an external community or just helping the internal team, like so much of my drive has come from, you know, making people feel comfortable to ask questions, to learn, to explore. And I'm really proud that, you know, that's kind of a founding principle for reclaim, you know, and then to make it, you know, affordable and to make sure that there's proper resources, you know, that it's not just a thing, but you can also find support for the thing, you know, and then a community to ask questions and to feel comfortable and so then to, then have the events and, you know, where people can come together and have true relationships and connections. Like, it's just, it's so diverse in that way and anyway. You don't sound like a person ready to leave reclaimed hosting. That's all I want to say. I know, it's, I don't feel ready, but I'm having an identity crisis actually, like, you know, but anyway. Reclaim your identity, at reclaimed. Exactly, yeah. But I, the other thing I'm interested in and you've done a really good job at this and I think, you know, as Meredith and I, who are the, like, you know, the veterans now, like, where they kind of reclaim old timers. Like, we're going to sit out front on our rocking chairs and tell stories about back in the day when we had an office. But one of the things I'm very interested in and I want to really take the torch and the mantle that you've started and bring it forward is this idea of culture. Because the idea of a reason for being a mission or kind of something that drives us, alongside a sense of a culture of the company and, like, who we are, not just as, like, hey, play foosball, hey, free coax, boo, boo. But, like, exactly. But, like, kind of a sense of, like, you know, does, is everyone clear on, like, what we're doing, why we're doing it and, like, you've been great about making the work we do even in Slack, more transparent. Keeping people, like, they're free to jump between meetings of groups and it's not, like, wall, wall, wall, like, no one talks to everyone. Like, how do you think about that work you've done? Because it's very important work, but oftentimes it's not quantified in the same way as, like, I set up a server or, you know, I answered X amount of tickets or I sold X amount of contracts. Like, like, how do you understand that work and how do you feel like we can keep it going? Yeah, it's a great question. I don't think there's a simple answer or, you know, a one-size-fits-all solution because people, you know, it's all people and everybody is different. And I think recognizing that, recognizing that everyone has a different working style, a different way that they feel engaged or organized or connected to the team. And that's even harder to pick up on when you're remote and you're in virtual settings. And so, you know, providing, one of the things I guess that I have tried to do is just provide enough room for that connection to happen but not force it through forced fun, right? So, you know, I don't walk around saying, you know, we're a family and, you know, we're gonna, like, you know, have our forced activities. I do a little bit of forced fun, you know, during the team trips and I joke about it on purpose, you know, because I do want the icebreakers to loosen people. Like, there is a reason that those exist, you know, and so I'll make fun of it, but then do it. But I think, like, in the day-to-day work, you know, you just have to provide that room for connection and knowing that it will happen in due time, you know, but allowing folks to come out of their shell slowly and building in enough variety with what those activities or moments of connection look like. You know, so we've done Music Mondays, right? Where people can express their interests through music and just, okay, I'm gonna run the playlist for an hour and I don't feel comfortable, you know, I'm new, I don't feel comfortable talking, but I'm fine pressing play and choosing songs, you know, versus, like, sitting in a meeting and talking about what you did that weekend, you know, or whatever, like, building in different ways to connect. But yeah, I think the other thing, too, is just being really observant and trying to pick up on, you know, different dynamics and reaching out and asking questions. I think the way that we frame questions is also important, too, instead of saying, like, I hope you had a good weekend, saying, you know, how was your weekend? Like, building a conversation as opposed to just, here's my sentence to show you I care, but now we're moving on, but, like, actually asking someone how they're doing and waiting for the answer and listening and responding and building in that time before meetings. But yeah, it's slow and it's through subtle things, small things over time. I have another question, Meredith, but I don't wanna steal all the questions, so. No, go for it. I have a question, too, so we'll get that. So you go first and then I'll come back to this question. Okay, I wanted to get some memories from Reclaim on what, as we reminisce about that, like, we talked about a little bit to, like, in another meeting just about, like, memories and all of that and then, like, high points and so if you wanna talk about those. Oh, gosh. You know, I think some of my highest points are when we've been able to travel and be on campus with admins and sit in the room with faculty and staff and the folks that I email regularly or that we're supporting tickets and just, you know, be able to brainstorm together in a different way that's just simply not possible when you, you know, are remote and I think that that, yeah, those have always been or were always very grounding, you know, where one of the challenges at Reclaim sometimes is, like, losing that perspective where, you know, it's like, okay, we're answering tickets and we're hosting servers and, you know, but we're not on campus every day getting questions from students or understanding what the challenges on campus might be and so to have those times to go and visit with folks and to do those workshops and to present and train and help, you know, those were just always very rewarding and I learned so much from them, even though I was going in with wearing the teacher hat, you know, I always felt like I was able to get so much out of it and just, you know, meet so many really wonderful, talented people. So that's a huge, I guess, high for me through the years. One of my highlights from, it was the Reclaim Roadshow at Skidmore and I remember you, myself and Justin went out and Justin's kind of like, you got to get more on the thing and so you and I went and I think it was our first road road show where we went somewhere and I remember that it was in that road show where you had the idea for the admin dashboard using a spot and I was like, that is so smart and cool and a great solution to our own product that you came up with at the actual road show and it was just such a cool moment where you were also coming into your own in very different ways at the company because you had a long history here from entry tickets part-time to fully managing all of us. Like, so you've kind of done a lap around the company if you will, but that was a highlight for me just that kind of moment where you were just kind of like continuing to push. Yeah, that was fun and I, you know, again, it just kind of goes back to how much of Reclaim is just very like answering our own questions. Like, well, what if we just did this? Like, why are we complicating it? Like, let's just use what we have, make it simple. It's, you know, maybe not perfect, but it works and it's still working, you know, this landing page is still out there. So it's kind of fun and just knowing that like, okay, I'm able to do something and contribute to a larger, you know, maybe problem or gap that was there previously and I did that, you know, I fixed that and that feeling at Reclaim is so cool and to know that like, you know, you can have ideas and they will be heard. And I tried to write some of this in my last blog post but that is just like such, you know, that is what kept me going at Reclaim is knowing that like, okay, I could come to work and, you know, have an idea and run with it and people would maybe benefit from it and it was really cool. So I have a question for you. As you go on, and I know you have a kind of, you know, open road in front of you, if you will, what parts of what you've done at Reclaim over the last eight years, would you want to continue to doing in any role, not attack or hosting per se, but what are some of those things that you would want to take with you and apply to a new position that you really loved and you could see doing more of in a different context? Oh gosh, that's a good question. And one that I'm probably still thinking through, you know, I don't have a full plan on the other side of this, which is both scary and exciting, but, you know, I love operations, which I know is kind of a big word that can mean a lot of things, but I like that it keeps every day interesting and I like the strategy that comes with it, the planning, the project management, like helping people and specifically coaching folks in a team capacity like this. And I feel very grateful that, you know, the Reclaim team has allowed me to help in some ways doing that for the last couple of years. I really like working with, you know, folks in the community and, you know, just kind of watching them have a light bulb moment, you know, whatever it is, whether it's just something they're discovering for the first time or something that I'm able to help consult with and have you thought about doing it this way, you know, and just like, oh, you know, like that is such a cool feeling when that happens. So trying to think of things that I like doing that could translate in multiple fields, but... I have an addendum to this question. Okay. I should have been an interviewer, right? Like this is, I missed my real calling. I'm not a very good business owner, but I'm an unbelievable interviewer. Anyway, big fan of me. What would you, like, I even forgot my, did I forget my question by going on like that? Did I? Hold on. Let me see if I did. You're a great interviewer. This is awesome. Oh, I now know why you're leaving. So, oh, wait. Do I have it? Okay, we're on your screen. Are you going to be out here, Meredith? We're talking about operations and learning strengths of hosting. Well, while you're, because if there's one thing that Jim has taught me through the years, it's knowing how to fill space, whether, you know, meeting, learning how to just talk, you know, keep the conversation going. So I can keep going if you want. While you're still remembering your question, the other thing, this is great. The other thing that I'll say, just something that I've learned at Reclaim, that I plan on taking with me, though not necessarily tech or like concrete skills, but just something like subtly that I've had to learn being in this space is just finding my voice and feeling confident. You know, when you get out of college, you're brand new into the professional world, right? And very early on, I was kind of thrust in the space where I was put in front of people to teach, you know, or present or consult or support in some way. And I remember having to really grapple with this idea that like, who am I to stand up in front of people and say something when, you know, they have master's degrees and PhDs and have, you know, are so much older than me and wiser and have been in this space for so much longer. Like, who am I to say these things? And I'm not gonna get emotional, but I just, that is intensely personal to go through. And I, you know, I feel very thankful for this community, for allowing me to work through that. Anyway, I just wanted to say that. You're gaining back that agency and your voice. Yeah, it was like feeling confident in your voice, feeling like, okay, I'm a subject matter expert in this and someone will value, you know, my benefit from what I'm saying because I had these questions once and now I don't and I'm going to help someone else that has this question. And I think, you know, that came through practice. It came through, you know, learning how to present and working very closely with you, Jim, especially, like as we were traveling, you know, to find my own story and to find my own pitch for working in the open web and, you know, to, but then also, yeah, I don't know, also blogging, you know, feeling confident enough to press publish on words that I wrote, that's can be scary. And so, yeah, that is something that I'm, you know, I have learned through the years and that I really do plan on taking with me is like, okay, when I stand in the room and I stand in front of people or at a podium or I'm publishing something online, like what I say has value and that is a hard lesson to learn and being able to do that at Reclaim, I feel very grateful for that. So anyway, maybe that gave you enough room to find your question, Jim, but that's something I wanted to say and thank the community for here. I couldn't remember my question because I was so wrapped listening to your awesome, like basically very, you know, to what you've been, you know, throughout the time we've worked for you, like honest, no BS, this is the job, this is the work and it's a pleasure to work alongside you. And it has been an absolute highlight of my career to do work alongside you and to kind of dream big and to laugh a lot and to just basically, you know, know that we kind of crazy idea and it actually had some legs and we're still in it. I think it's been a fun ride. Like I have no regrets. I think it's been a blast, you know, it still is and we're gonna miss you to no end, but you know, you'll be awesome wherever you go, you'll rule. And I'm excited to continue watching the Reclaim Awesomeness from the sidelines for a bit and everything, but I will say you mentioned big ideas and laughing and that made me remember a Reclaim video and when Jim was like, let's make a VHS video store and just somehow relate it to Reclaim hosting and the work that we're doing and then suddenly we got a whole new logo and we were sponsoring OER, went from Reclaim Video and we had like this whole like VHS marketing campaign. It was... Meredith was making cards and cataloging videotapes. I still think the greatest part of our company was that store. I literally thought I left a hosting company and went to a video store and there were like days where we were like studying a script like to put on this recording and somebody has to share it in the links or the comments from wherever this is being streamed but that video was still just like such a highlight for me being able to put that together. The main of one's own, the video and Meredith and I working at the store and you and Tim coming in looking for a hosting company. Like, oh my gosh, that was so brilliant. And Tim was like, yeah, it is running on HTML, you know? But I think that's an important lesson for me if I have any lesson to learn from is keeping things fun but also like as we grow and as we continue to kind of navigate a lot, right? Like I think all of us know that the last couple of years like, you know, we have a good time but we're also working our pots off and it's a lot of work and I think keeping it fresh and keeping it interesting and fun at the, you know because you can get sucked into your work you can can disappear into it and then get a little bit burnt out and jaded but I think the fun and the creativity and the sense of working towards something, you know that isn't only always about like SLAs and uptime helps us all, you know, be better at what we do and enjoy what we do. And that's been, I think we've done a pretty good job thus far. And that also gets back to the culture piece, right? Like knowing, okay, it doesn't have to be so serious all the time, like, yes, we have responsibilities. Yes, you know, there are SLAs and we have to make sure our servers are sit online and secure and like there are things like that that are extremely important. But, you know, we can have fun with the art and we can have new ideas and we can explore and also, you know, if we do make a mistake, it's okay. You know, like, let's learn from it and move on and it gets, you know, it's not the end of the world. And that's something, you know, that I'm glad I hopefully the team knows as well. Yeah, Lauren, honestly, that's one of the biggest things that you've taught me at Reclaim is that it's okay things happen, you just pick up and move on and you learn from it and teach from it as well. So it's not, it never was like one mistake is the end all be all. Like I think that's been really encouraging and a great mentor item for sure. I'm glad that, yeah, that's great to hear because I think, you know, we are human, you know things will happen, we will make mistakes and nobody is perfect and so, you know creating a culture where there's room for that, you know and it's expected even is like, okay, cool, you know and that also again helps us make better decisions. How can we set up a process that eliminates that room for error, knowing it will happen, you know and then what happens when it does? So yeah, I think that that's, and that's something that I learned from Tim and Jim is like, you know, it's just the name of the game. And so again, holding onto those key things that make a team successful, even as we grow is something I'm proud of that that has remained that way. Yeah. Yeah. We were saying this earlier, but Jim I, you know who's going to laugh at your jokes? Nobody. No, Meredith's still here. Yeah, there you go. Herdyn's last, but- Talking on Noah too, the newest of the team. Yeah, Noah will bail me out. But it's maybe because it's just he's new, right? He'll- I actually think it's a sign of intelligence when people don't laugh at my jokes. So I think, you know, if no one is laughing at my jokes anymore, which has been the case for a while, even you, you laugh at the fact that I'm trying to tell jokes. You never really laughed at the jokes. I just, I gotta, you know, I gotta ground you, keep you humble, you know, can't laugh at everything. 9.5. Yeah, exactly. It's always 9.5 out of 10. Jim, what were you saying about throwing yourself into your work and becoming jaded about it? There's always room to improve, you know. 9.5 out of 10, always. Yeah, that's awesome. Well, you're a 10, you're an 11. Lauren Hanks, 11. Oh, gosh. Any closing words? No, you know, I said, I said what I wanted to say and I even shed a tear. So, but no, it's in all series this though. I'm incredibly honored to have worked with the team and the community that, you know, reclaimed has and I feel very grateful for everyone who's given me a chance to help or in some way. Yeah, thank you. It's been great. Big fan. For life, Lauren. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. You laughed, I made you laugh one last time. See you later, see y'all.