When we sat down to write our final email to say goodbye, farewell and good luck to those who had been a part of our journey for so long, we struggled to put into words what we were feeling. How do you say goodbye to a team, a business, a lifestyle that had defined who and what you are for more than a decade? What do you say to those who have helped you achieve your wildest dreams and given you back so much more than you could ever give them? It went something like this and it's a fitting end to our book.

It was early 2006, back in the early days of online shopping. eBay Australia had launched a year earlier, and few, if any, of the big retail players had launched their own website, let alone started selling online.

We decided to jump in, headfirst, and they laughed at us. ‘Selling one product every single day? You must be crazy!’ they said. ‘Why would anyone come to a site that has only one product a day? That's not a business!’

We must have been mad to think that something like this would work, but by 2008 we had managed to sell 4000 Toshiba laptops in a single day and $1 million worth of Samsung TVs in an hour, just to name a couple of deals.

By 2010 Catch of the Day was Australia's No.1, the most visited shopping site. This achievement put us on the map and stirred up the retail landscape like never before.

The next few years have been busy to say the least. In no particular order, we launched, built or acquired:

• Scoopon
• Grocery Run
• Mumgo
• Vinomofo
• Yumtable
• EatNow
• Pumpkin Patch
• Bon Voyage
• Thehome
• Brandsexclusive
• Catch marketplace.

Over the past 13 years we've shared this journey with more than 1000 workmates. They are our friends who have become our family. We can't name you all but we thank each and every one of you from the bottom of our hearts for taking part in this incredible journey! We are so proud of everything that we achieved together and will treasure these friendships for the rest of our lives.

We believe that we have taken the business as far as we could, and to sail through the rough seas of retail, Catch needs new ownership and guidance. So, it's time to pass on the baton.

We are leaving Catch on a massive high! A strong Australian brand that is much loved, with a reputation that is second to none. Our team is the best in the country, and as such it was no surprise that an Australian retail leader, Wesfarmers, saw the opportunity to take Catch to places that we could not.

We remember back in the early days, going into Kmart Chadstone around midnight, to find inspiration. We flipped the products around, checking the labels in order to find new suppliers. ☺ And now, here we are, owned by that very same company.

We would like to use this opportunity to thank the team at Wesfarmers (you know who you are). You recognised that our brands shared a common DNA, and that's a great start for any union. We are so humbled and excited that our baby, now a teenager, is joining your esteemed family of companies. Your admiration for what we have achieved, your praise for the team behind the success and your vision for the future have left us humbled and honoured. You were bold enough to seize the opportunity and to recognise Catch as a crucial part of the Wesfarmers story.

We are handing over a great business, with an amazing following of dedicated customers who trust us with their hard‐earned day after day. But most of all we trust you with our Catch family, the 400+ super smart, dedicated, hard‐working people who love working together and punching above their weight. Please take care of them!

We would like to use this opportunity to thank our suppliers and service providers (again, too many to mention). Without them, we are nothing! Catch has built its reputation and success on the back of great deals. These deals are sourced from thousands of suppliers around the world. Thank you to each and every one of you for jumping on the Catch train and trusting us with your products. Some of you joined as early as 2006 (Telefunken, PowerDC, Lenoxx) and some of you have joined more recently (LG, Fila, Beats and many more).

The world of retail is changing, and you can no longer ignore the tidal wave. We know that with the change of ownership and having Wesfarmers behind Catch this will drive a massive influx of new and exciting brands and products to Catch. Our customers are going to love it!

Last but not least, the biggest thank you goes to our millions of customers. We know that you have a lot of choice out there, and yet you choose Catch, and that means the world to us. We hope that over the past decade or so we have managed to satisfy, surprise and delight you with great brands and great prices. We really have tried our best to do so. And you thanked us by coming back for more and more, telling your friends about us, and making it the massive site it is today.

Stick with Catch. We've got a good feeling that it is just the beginning and there are lots of great things in store. We've only just begun.

People like us never reach their destination as we always push the boundaries forward. We love solving problems, and problems will always be around. We are your friends forever, and have a lot of time for coffees or walks around the park. We will forever support this brand in any way that we can, so please feel free to reach out to us for advice, recommendations or just for a coffee.

So, it's goodbye and good luck from the two of us. Don't be a stranger. Connect with us on LinkedIn, check out our site at www.catchofthedecade.com and let us know what exciting, interesting ideas you've got going on. We're super interested in being part of the next wave of young entrepreneurship in Australia and beyond, and we've got some time on our hands, so get in touch!

Gabby and Hezi

P.S. 100% of our profits from this book go to www.good360.org and www.secondbite.org. Please support them if you can. They do great work.