It is with mixed emotions that I share some important news today. After much reflection and consideration, I have made the difficult decision to close down Elixir. This was not a choice made lightly, but rather one born out of careful thought and a deep understanding of the current circumstances regarding all that is, and has gone on in our community over the past couple of years, both publicly and behind the scenes.
Over the years, we as a group have grown together, faced challenges, celebrated successes, and built a community that I am incredibly proud of. Your support has been the cornerstone of Elixir’s existence, and for that, I am profoundly grateful. I’ve grown and learned a lot over the years, and I have seen the same from you all as well. Many of those that once needed help have turned into those lending a hand to others in the community.
I am sincerely sorry, as I know this puts some of you in a tough spot, but I just can’t continue running Elixir when there is little to no income being generated from it. I truly hope you all understand.
As many of you know, Realmac Software will be bundling a framework of their own into their new website building tool later this year. This framework would be in direct competition with Foundry and the other tools I make, which of course is their goal. Realmac has a huge leg up on myself and other developers because they’re currently the only ones who have access to their new app’s API. Whether that is because the API is too rough and unfinished, or that they’re holding it close to the their chest so that they can in fact have this leg up on other developers, it is still the case that they’re the only ones able to develop native addons right now for their upcoming app. So even if I wanted to I cannot compete with them there, which is as they want it. Realmac is a company that survived for a great many years on the shoulders of the 3rd-party developers that grew up around their product, and they’ve simply decided to throw that away.
As for Stacks Pro — I have checked out the first beta release as some of you may have also done. It has promise, but isn’t yet usable in its current state, but there is a lot of room for 3rd-party developers to grow. Unfortunately it did not come along quick enough.
Due to the infighting between Realmac and YourHead a couple of years ago sales of my products, as well as those of other developers in this community, took a major hit. It made it a real struggle for us to survive in this market. I powered through and kept at it, even as sales continued to wane, working on a larger update to Foundry that will likely never see the light of day. But over the last 6-8 months sales have practically dried up altogether. I’ve had to refocus my energy on other projects outside of Elixir to keep the lights on, so-to-speak.
In addition to the fact that I can’t bleed money until StacksPro is released, and hopefully has a good audience, I think I really also feel completely burned. The wind was taken out of my sails when this all of this began a couple of years ago. But at this point I don’t even think my ship has a mast.
So I have come to realize that it is time for me to explore new avenues and challenges outside the realm of Elixir. Please know that this decision was not made due to any lack of love for what I was doing or lack of support and encouragement from you all. On the contrary, it is because of my deep respect for this community that I stuck it out for so long. I’ve worked hard at this business for almost 20 years now, and it pains me every day to think about leaving it, but I think it is for the best.
While this chapter may be coming to a close, I am excited about what lies ahead. The lessons learned, relationships forged, and experiences gained will undoubtedly shape the next phase of my journey. I want to express my deepest thanks to each and every one of you who has been a part of this incredible adventure. Your support has meant more to me than words can adequately convey.
Support for my products will continue, in the form of this support forum, through November 15, 2024. Unfortunately after that time I will have to discontinue the forum as it costs a good deal to run it on a month-to-month basis and with little to no income being generated by Elixir right now I can’t afford to keep it going forever. If there’s anything you want from the shop before I close it down, now would be the time to purchase it, with the understanding that I will not be supporting it further.
Thank you for your trust and patronage over the years. I’ve made a great many friends in this community over the years and I truly treasure that.
