Podcasting startup PodShow has laid off one-third of its staff, according to a report Valleywag:
PodShow, the San Francisco-based online-video network best known for launching the career of CNET’s Natali Del Conte, is laying off about 20 employees, or as much as 30 percent of its staff.
“There are no secrets, only information you don’t yet have,” is the slogan for former MTV VJ Adam Curry’s podcast. Curry, a PodShow cofounder, didn’t show up to deliver information about the firings; we’re told he left that to middle managers.
This looks like the end of the podcasting hype.
None of the heavily hyped podcasting startups have delivered on their promise, despite a one-year jump on the mainstream competition and inexorable trends driving people to podcasts and other Internet media.
Expect more podcast hype backlash in the next year, while forward-thinking organizations and early-adopters push podcasting technology to mainstream adoption.
More: Our take on the podcasting hype cycle.
Podcasting and video podcasting startup PodTech has had its share of negative coverage recently, being described by some as “the Valley’s worst video network.” The company has been struggling to get additional funding, has recently let some of its staff go and has been criticized for the quality of its content.
PodTech CEO John Furrier’s attempts to put some positive spin on the company’s situation, though, appear to have backfired. Even worse for PodTech, the situation has devolved into a A-list blogger catfight between former Microsoft blogger and current PodTech employee Robert Scoble and TechCrunch’s Mike Arrington.
“Techcrunch got a lot of things wrong,” said Scoble, “including that we’re getting out of the content business.”
“If I got the story wrong, its because John wasn’t being clear in how he describes the company,” responded TechCrunch’s Arrington. “It’s bullshit to call this out publicly.”
Arrington responded with a TechCrunch post, telling PodTech “I’m not your VP Marketing,” adding “I personally find 90% of Podtech content just slightly more entertaining than watching paint dry.”
PodTech needs to forget about spinning its situation, and instead focus on its content. If PodTech is staying in the content business, like Furrier and Scoble have said, the company needs to figure out how to deliver good content that has some mainstream appeal, and it needs to do it quickly.
Pioneering podcaster and PodTech CEO John Furrier has posted a defense of the company, which has struggled to become profitable, failed to find new investors and has had to let go some of its content creators. The company has also been subjected to scathing coverage recently, especially from “tech gossip rag” Valleywag, which described PodTech as “the Valley’s worst video network.”
PodTech raised $5.5 million in 2006, and has spent much of the last year developing video podcasts by geek-tech personalities like Irina Slutsky, Robert Scoble and Jason Calacanis. While PodTech has featured well-respected techies, none has yet demonstrated that they have mainstream appeal.
PodTech’s View
In a blog post this morning, Furrier offers his “basic facts” about PodTech:
- 38 full time employees
- Rent approx 12,000 sf office space in Palo Alto
- PodTech Studio in Palo Alto for video production and show development
- Record revenue growth every quarter
- 45 corporate clients and growing
- Fullly funded to hit projected cash flow positive (break even and profitable) with our current mix in business not including new products that we are developing
- Focus of the company:
- editorial content;
- develop media franchises through signing (aggregation) of professional producers and in house development (our studio);
- continue to be the leader in social media for our clients;
- innovate on the social media ad models that we are developing; and
- media technology platform
- I and the board are looking for a CEO - specifically someone who can take the day to day operations off my hands and build a team to scale the company. This will allow me to focus externally on developing media and working with leading marketers and advertisers. This is a very similar situation that Ross Mayfield recently posted about - CEO 2.0. I’m proud of PodTech’s market position, team, platform, and our client base. For the company it’s about getting to cash flow positive and then scaling. The business is doing well but we do need to improve in many areas.
- The changes will continue. PodTech is in the middle of massive change and growth. I expect that change will be part of our company culture.
- We are not getting out of the content creation business but will continue to focus on aggregation.
One of the key points in Furrier’s message is that PodTech is in the business of developing and signing podcasts in order to create profitable Internet media franchises. PodTech’s new CEO will face a lot of challenges, but the biggest is likely to be turning the company into one that can deliver great podcasts with broad appeal.
More discussion at TechCrunch, MakeYouGoHmm
