Thank you for your support!

This entire project started with a simple question in the early stages of the pandemic:

"Wouldn't it be cool if at the end of a Twitch stream, the best clips were compiled into a video and automatically uploaded to YouTube?"

Little did I know that that question would result in Make Echoes and become what I lovingly called an "obsession project" for more than two and a half years. 

Like all projects, it definitely had it's ups and downs. I am happy to report that after the sting of making the decision to close the business, communicating that to my customers and now being on the other side of it all, I am incredibly proud of my work effort here. Building out features like Echo Multi that have yet to be replicated on any livestreaming platform, is a particularly proud achievement. 

But none of that is possible without the incredible content creators. 

They put themselves out there on the internet to entertain and connect with people all over the world. They, in turn, decided to trust their content to a one-man SaaS product to help them create more content from their content. That's a leap of faith that I will always have a great level of respect for. 

Some final stats before I take a couple moments to thank some of the truly critical people in this process: 

Those numbers still get a bit of shock out of me. I was just a guy coding in my home office in Carlsbad, my converted dining room in Austin and my living room in Las Vegas. As SheSnaps said at the very beginning of me sharing with her that I had built the very first version of the tool, "This is going to be a THING." Yes, Snaps it very much was. 

Adding in the efforts in creating integrations with Twitch's Chat, Elgato's Stream Decks, Twitter, Discord and building out my own streaming passthrough service, I have learned a ton not only about how to code in new and interesting ways but I've learned in a much greater way how those choices can really impact someone's experience in the expression of their passions. 

As much as this was a one-man effort in the code, server architecture and everything in the actual creation and management of the SaaS side of the equation, there really are three people I need to publicly thank. 

Clintus, you're one of the few people that I can share my crazy ideas with and get honest feedback from while simultaneously having you be the biggest supporter of me taking a run at them. That mix is incredible and is why in many respects, this entire thing started. It was a way for my technical skills to help your content creation business. I appreciate ya more than I tend to vocalize. 

Twaz, you asked the pivotal question and in the earliest of days, shared in this "obsession project" by using your skills to create a logo, color pallete and a visual style that fit myself and the intention of the tool. The first few months, I remember specifically staying up way too late and working on "just one more feature" to make sure that whenever we chatted next that I'd have something meaningful to share with you. That desire to play nearer the level I perceive you at pushed me in such a productive way. Thank you. 

Rocco, I don't even know where to begin. You're equal parts mentor and best friend and I needed both over the years I worked on this project. The twice-a-week calls, daily messages and semi-random pings making sure that I wasn't strapped in at the rig for endless hours were instrumental in me not burning myself out time and again. Your ability to listen to me talk through the technical details, even when I knew you didn't understand 100% of what I was talking about, and ask the critical question that changed my perspective is truly your super power. I know you do it both personally and professionally with everyone you choose to interact with. The ability to vent my frustrations and also share my wins and losses with you and know that "it's all just part of the process" made it easy to continue to trust in myself and keep going forward. Explicitly and here in public, thanks. 

So what's next for me? I continue to have my incredible day job working on the Yoga With Adriene YouTube channel and it's Find What Feels Good app/membership. I am so very thankful for Adriene, Chris and the entire team for being supportive of me having these outside pursuits. I won't deny that I've been playing with OpenAI's Whisper and Aeneas and have built the beginnings of a tool that I would have paid almost anything for when running my closed captioning agency between 2015 and 2019. Maybe that sees the light of day. Maybe it doesn't. 

I can safely assume I won't stop tinkering and building tools for content creators as that's something I can't stop myself from doing.

It's been one hell of a ride with Echoes and I'm happy with where it has concluded.

Cheers,
Kade Dworkin