Changes at PodTech…
It’s interesting being part of a small company, PodTech, and watching and helping that company change direction. Yesterday we made some moves that are getting attention in the news. I wish Irina all the best.
I know I’m a bit opaque about what’s going on at PodTech. Not really very transparent of me, I know. But we’re becoming a more focused company and that leads to a whole range of things that I can’t yet share.
As with anything, if you have any questions, my phone number is 425-205-1921 and I’ll be happy to answer the questions, if I can.
Just for the record, I’m 100% committed to PodTech and the moves that John Furrier and the executive team is making and won’t reevaluate my career until Spring of 2008.
Irina is still a friend and will always be part of the PodTech family and I wish her all the best. Her humor still makes me laugh and she’s one of the most tied in people to the community I’ve ever known. If I wanted to know something about what people thought she’s the first person I’d go to for that.
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July 19th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Interesting that in the story you cited Furrier was quoted saying “Of trying to raise new funding, Furrier complained, “Everyone’s elephant hunting, but they don’t know what they’re looking for. I think a lot of people don’t really understand what PodTech’s doing.” ”
When a startup’s executive complains about people not understanding what his company is doing… Well, he’s the guy that has to get that message out. Maybe you should do an video interview with him, blog about it and then we would know.
I don’t have time to go to PODTECH and figure out what they are doing. I reed your blog because you have built a level of trust with me and that’s how it works.
PodTech better get focused and get some more revenue streams going or we are going to hear about Robert moving to another company in 2008.
July 19th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Herschel: that’s a good idea. The thing he was reacting to is that “journalists” are going to press with stories where they don’t do any reporting.
Even the article I linked to was done without getting anyone from PodTech’s feedback on it.
July 19th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Isn’t that sad.
We have poor reporting going on in the mainstream press and now in the Internet based press.
Why, all in the name of being the first to report the story.
That is why it is so important to have facts correct the first time. Any content creator/reporter gets only a few “forgive me’s” before readers move on to someone more trust worthy.
July 19th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
robert, right now the one thing i would love is an RSS feed with ACTUAL ENCLOSURES for Ill Doctrine so I can subscribe on my N95– can you please, please make this happen?
July 19th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
“However PodTech, which had recently been unsuccessful in seeking a second round of funding to add to the $5.5 million it raised in early 2006 from Venrock Associates and U.S. Venture Partners”
Run for your career.
“He said the company had spent more than $500,000 on GETV. He also stated PodTech has “millions in the bank.””
2? Run for your career.
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?url=podtech.net
I hope it recovers. What is the exit strategy?
It doesn’t have the momentum to go IPO.
Maybe IBM could bail you guys out. Poor Scoble.
July 19th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Chris: this information is NOT correct. Wish I could say more, though, but this is part of the incorrect information that has been printed about PodTech. Hint: we got more money.
July 19th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
http://siteanalytics.compete.com/podtech.net
but both of these stats miss the point: that most of our traffic isn’t happening on our sites anymore thanks to our gadget strategy.
July 19th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
I hope so, 2 million dollars or whatever low amount he may have meant by putting the “s” on million seems like a lot of money(for 1 person before taxes), but when you have more than 6-7 employees it really isn’t.
Especially not when they travel a lot.
“but both of these stats miss the point: that most of our traffic isn’t happening on our sites anymore thanks to our gadget strategy.”
As long as the adverts show up somewhere.
July 19th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Chris: we have more than 30 employees at PodTech.
July 19th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Robert, are you familiar with Steven Colbert’s Green Screen Challenge?: http://colboard.com/cn/greenscreen.php
It was great fun.
I think PodTech should do something along the same lines. You could shoot big name tech guys and tech companies with green screen elements and let your audience create and share their creations.
Getting participation from your audience would be more fun for us and more enlightening for you and for those you video.
July 19th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
Not really very transparent of me, I know.
No surprise, you never practice what you preach.
July 19th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
until Spring of 2008
Commitments, don’t have end dates, so that’s an exit strategy. Would you say, “I won’t reevaluate my marriage until Spring of 2008?”
July 19th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
>No surprise, you never practice what you preach.
I never have preached to post confidential company information. I work with almost 40 other people and have to consider the impact on them before I write anything.
Glad you understand that.
Even at Microsoft I never told you anything about the company’s business that they didn’t want discussed in public. In fact I rarely discussed that stuff at all.
July 19th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
btw, Robert, MyFridj will accept animations and I have access to worldclass animators, including Disney animators. You could offer green screened people and let our animators go to work and then get part of the revenue generated by the final product that’s sold via our site.
I personally love the mix of live action and animation. That’d be cool.
July 19th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Rodgers: anyone who says they’ll stay at a company for life without reevaluating what they are doing career wise is lying.
What I just told you is that I’m not going anywhere until Spring 2008 and quite possibly after that (I only said that I would evaluate my career then, not that I would make any changes).
I’m not married to PodTech. Glad you think that business is marriage. That demonstrates you are someone who shouldn’t be let anywhere near a business. Thanks!
July 19th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
have to consider the impact on them before I write anything.
Nothing wrong with that, just it makes you a first-rate hypocrite. If you have to “consider” or consult, it’s not transparency, it’s spin.
And successful companies ARE like marriages, ask anyone really committed, who really loves and believes in the service and product, pouring their heart and soul into it, in for the long haul, not the Web 2.0 hype up, cash-out wrecks that pose as companies.
July 19th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Time to stop talking and get back to work, wouldn’t ja say? Best to all my friends at Podtech, also Irina and Eddie, you all rock and have made the whole vlogosphere a fascinating place!
If you’ve got lots of time on your hands, make a CNN YouTube Debate video for the Demo Debate next week!
July 19th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
@6 “but this is part of the incorrect information that has been printed about PodTech. Hint: we got more money.Hint: we got more money.”
oooookay. You may have gotten more money. Was it more or less than the reported $5.5MM? If less, then the story is correct. Or was PodTech not seeking MORE than $5.5MM or less than $5.5M? Which part of the story is not correct? The $5.5MM number? If you got money, but not the $5.5MM, then the story is correct.
July 19th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Halley: absolutely.
Rodgers: if you think I talk without considering the consequences on other people then you haven’t been reading carefully.
They aren’t like marriages. At all. Don’t know what kind of marriage you live in, but I must live in a different world.
Not that I don’t pour a lot of my soul and heart into this. You must have missed that I’ve done more than 200 interviews since joining PodTech, while reading 700 feeds a day, while doing a blog, while going around the world and speaking, etc. I guess you think that just happens without work and without dedication.
July 19th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
@13 Then what good does it do to give out your phone number and offer to answer any questions? Are you saying you will divulge information on a phone call but not via your blog?
July 19th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
We got $5.5 million more than a year ago. We still have some of that left. We also just got some more money. Not gonna tell you how much, or who gave it to us — that’s confidential and I’m not allowed to share private financial things — that’s John Furrier’s job, he’s CEO so go ask him. Our revenues are also up and we’re on track to be cash-flow positive this year.
July 19th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
LayZ: I gave that so that reporters can ask us the facts before they publish stories. I’ve found that lots of “reporters” are publishing stories without checking the facts they are reporting. Generally that takes a phone call.
July 19th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Well really, Robert, so old-fashioned, not wanting to reveal your own company’s proprietary and confidential financial information!
All joking aside: the one way that business really is different from a romantic relationship is that when you part ways, it’s a lot easier to say “let’s still be friends” and mean it. It’s too bad GETV and PodTech didn’t work out, but I look forward to the new direction collaborative projects with Irina and PodTech could take in the future.
July 19th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
[...] Changes at PodTech… It’s interesting being part of a small company, PodTech, and watching and helping that company change direction. […] [...]
July 19th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Whats podtech?
July 19th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
I never told you anything about the company’s business that they didn’t want discussed in public.
Amazing admission. Well then you were nothing more than marketing, even if not “confidential”, if you only talked about what they wanted discussed, that’s nowhere near a ‘naked conversation’.
I believe in what you say, not what you do.
In the meantime, can reach me at Myspace, Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo Groups, Google Groups, Ustream, Powence, Flickr, Youtube, Meetup, 30Boxes, Wikia, Ning, Blogtv, KyleTV…
July 19th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
@22 Okay, makes sense. Thanks for clarifying…
@21. I’m still a bit confused on you saying the facts are wrong. Are you saying PodTech wasn’t seeking $5.5MM in this round of begging…er..I mean..fund raising? If so then I see your point. If you set out to beg..I mean, raise $5.5MM and got less..well…not wrong.
July 19th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
@25, Some bullshit company
July 19th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
I just want to say, despite the differences in direction that GETV and PodTech are moving, Irina and I are both grateful for our time at PodTech. We learned a lot, had many interesting experiences, worked with some very smart people and got to travel to exotic places like Las Vegas and Palo Alto. :)
July 20th, 2007 at 4:52 am
“Chris: we have more than 30 employees at PodTech.”
Say you have 35.
Say your employees made what most of ours make. $48,000 USD per year. Doing quick math that would mean that Podtech sinks $1,680,000 per year in Salaries.
Now add 100k per board member at a low amount, 5 board members including Scoble.
that’s $2,680,000. Scoble and other’s travel expenses and entry fees: $500,000 per year
You’re already up to $3,180,000
and you haven’t even paid for the office space or the phone bills yet.
PodtechNetworks got 5.5M in venture cap. They are probably blowing close to 3.5M per year. Not to mention bandwidth costs for streaming all that video. Youtube was losing 1M per month on that alone, sourced by the WSJ article on YouTube.
“We got $5.5 million more than a year ago. We still have some of that left. We also just got some more money. Not gonna tell you how much, or who gave it to us”
I bet you don’t have very much left. If the usage stats and the way PodtechNetworks spent the original 5.5M is any indicator, whoever loaned you the additional running cash should maybe consider it as a grant rather than a loan.
Why didn’t you guys just start a NPO?
That would have solved a lot of problems.
July 20th, 2007 at 4:53 am
Sorry, that should say 10 board members.
July 20th, 2007 at 4:54 am
You need a lawyer, treasurer, secretary, vice president, president, CTO, CFO, ect… at least 3 more for 30 employees.
Typo.
July 20th, 2007 at 6:25 am
consider it as a grant
And that also applies to the starting 5.5 million. A NPO in Palo Alto?? You on drugs? ;)
July 20th, 2007 at 9:16 am
[...] Yep! You read that right. I said it. No one was man enough to blurt out the presence of a big fat hairy elephant in the room. Now, I’ve done it. PodTech may have figured it out too. [...]
July 20th, 2007 at 9:29 am
“A NPO in Palo Alto?? You on drugs?”
I’m not on drugs. But at least as a NPO they could take flat out tax deductible donations.
PBS is still in business after 35+ years doing that and they have way more than 30 employees.
Switching to a non-profit doesn’t mean Scoble can’t earn 150k per year or whatever. It just means you’re capped as far as “net” income is concerned or that you are forced to reinvest it.
Since the money’s already gone, the least they could do if they don’t make it back on this round of investments or loans is to simply switch to NPO status and keep the lights on and keep the people employed. I know that’s not the silicon valley way, but the silicon valley way is not stable.
July 20th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Or they could spend all the new cash on a promotion frenzy and hope they hit the IPO threshold on bailout.
That’s more the silicon valley way.
July 20th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
“I’m not married to PodTech. Glad you think that business is marriage. ”
working for a startup, especially somebody at the VP level, should be seen like a marriage. A startup wont succeed unless every employee is fully invested and strongly believes in the vision and pours every ounce of their energy into the business. You give it 100%, as soon as you start thinking about what you might do next, then I am sorry to say that all is already lost.
Do you think early Google, Yahoo, Microsoft etc. employees and directors thought the same way? Damn no, they all had their sights set on only one thing.
July 20th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Jeff: I put in more hours than any single human being should do, even at a startup (you do notice we’re both online on Friday night, right?). If you haven’t seen it, I publish more video than any other single person in the tech journalism industry. I do more Google Feed Reads than any single person in the world (according to Google). I am online nearly every waking moment and participate in thousands of places online. I also speak around the world, manage to find time to attend lots of blogger and developer events. Not to mention internal PodTech meetings and events.
It’s still not a marriage.
But I’m very vested in PodTech and pouring my energy into the business.
I disagree, by the way. A good employee sits down every once in a while to evaluate where their career is going. Even one in a startup. In fact at Microsoft they FORCE you to do just that at least once a year.
July 20th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
Podtech had a short injection to keep them going while they continue to try and raise their next round. They have been busy touring Sand Hill Road for a while and not had anybody commit. If we were to believe Podtech, then the current investors would have already stepped up and flushed the company with money to further grow the business, you wouldn’t be laying off people who were the face of the company.
It is utterly and completely misleading that John tells the blogs that they have ‘millions’ left, simple math will tell you that they have burnt through most of what they raised and have spent far far too much on acquiring ‘talent’ and putting on shows.
Podtech will be cleaning house soon.
July 20th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
A VC: the current investors HAVE stepped up and given us more money. Check your facts before you continue to report inuendo.
This was not a layoff for financial reasons. Thanks for calling me and asking me the facts. My phone number is 425-205-1921 but its easier to make shit up. Thanks for playing the game!
July 20th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Robert: If you read what I said, my point was exactly that the current investors have only placed a little more into the company, rather than stepping up to do another full round
July 20th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
A VC: millions of dollars is “only a little more?” What kind of world do you live in? And why don’t you sign your name so we know what kind of biases you have and where you’re coming from?
July 20th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Also, you missed that our revenues are up and we don’t need more capital and we’re headed to cash-flow-positive this year. So, why, again, do we need a second round at all?
July 21st, 2007 at 1:47 pm
@43 “:So, why, again, do we need a second round at all?”
Er..um… back @21 you said: “We also just got some more money. Not gonna tell you how much, or who gave it to us”
So, care to answer your own question? Why did you need a second round at all?
July 21st, 2007 at 1:58 pm
LayZ: we didn’t get a second round. Our investors gave us more first round money.
Why need more money? To hire more engineers to build something interesting, but because revenues are up we don’t need as much as we thought.
July 21st, 2007 at 8:45 pm
@45 Uhg! I’m still confused or your are being evasive. In @42 you suggest you don’t need a second round because life is rosey at PodTech. Then in @45 you suggest you DO need a second round, but perhaps not as much as what was reported. So, again, very simple: Did you succeed in getting a second round of funding?. Does that mean you weren’t seeking a second round? Or does that mean people kept walking when you held up your sign? I understand WHY a company would need more funding.
July 24th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Not a layoff for financial reasons? Then clue John in on that, as he was blaming GETV for spending upwards of $500,000.
July 24th, 2007 at 11:23 am
#47: yes, we spent that much and what did they get to in audience size? About 2,000 downloads per show. That’s not good enough for the investment we were making per show.
#46: we succeeded in getting more funding than we had when I started the company, yes. But I’m not going to go more into it with you. It’s a private company and we don’t share our financials. Just like you don’t share your identity.
July 27th, 2007 at 9:20 am
[...] be before Podtech completely implodes. On a post July 19 titled “Changes at Podtech”, he wrote: Just for the record, I’m 100% committed to PodTech and the moves that John Furrier and the [...]
July 27th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
[...] whether the company can survive. On July 19, 2007, Scoble addressed this in a post headlined Changes at PodTech…. He wrote: “It’s interesting being part of a small company, PodTech, and [...]