Dan Berger, founder and general manager at Social Tables, announced on Twitter that he will be leaving the company later this month. Berger has been with Social Tables since its inception eight years ago.
Today I announced that I’ve decided to leave @socialtables, the company I founded 8 years ago, later this month. pic.twitter.com/yPHFJ48jtA
— Dan J. Berger (@danberger) November 2, 2019
Social Tables is a D.C.-based events planning software company, which was acquired last year by event management platform company Cvent.
Founded in 2011, Berger was the Social Tables CEO up until the merger, where he then transitioned to general manager. Since the merger, Social Tables has continued to function as an independent brand working out of its own offices. The tech startup has about 100 employees working out of its Metro Center space, plus 20 employees in the Philippines, 30 working in India and another 30 working across Social Tables and Cvent, Berger said.
Berger told Technical.ly that his decision to leave has been in the works for “quite some time,” but that he wanted to make sure everything was in order and integrated properly after the Cvent merger first, from moving HR policies to merging Slack channels.
“Once it was done, I realized that I really didn’t have as big of a role anymore,” Berger said. “I was kind of in the way, and I want to go do other things. I want to embark on my next entrepreneurial venture.”
He also shared a few of his favorite memories at the company, one being his demo at a DC Tech Meetup event a few years ago: In the middle of his presentation, he felt a sense of confidence and reassurance after the crowd began applauding him for his idea.
“That was such a special moment for me because I felt so validated by the community,” Berger said.
Another: when the team did the ribbon cutting on Social Tables’ new office with Mayor Muriel Bowser back in 2016. At the ceremony, he said, he promised the mayor that his company would handle 100 community events in two years, and that Social Tables exceeded that expectation and did 100 events in one year.
And finally: when the company closed on its Series A funding round in 2014, raising $8 million in capital led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Thayer Ventures.
So what’s next for Berger?
Despite his success with Social Tables, he said he doesn’t see himself starting another company from scratch again.
“I’d rather take something that’s already started and take care of it,” Berger said.
He shared in a note on Twitter that he’s publishing a book next year, embarking on new “entrepreneurial endeavors” and potentially moving back to New York. The book will focus on why he thinks people should start companies alone, he said.
Here is a part of the note I sent to employees earlier today. pic.twitter.com/3XbmVsbObW
— Dan J. Berger (@danberger) November 2, 2019
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