On April 26, with my patience wearing thin under the pressure of "Is he there yet?" inquiries from our VCs, Scott called, sounding excited. "I want you to meet Colin Campbell," he said. "He's not a household name, but he's the CEO for Gazooba. I'll stake my reputation on it."
Scott went on to explain that although Colin's hair wasn't gray, he had more than a decade of online industry experience, first in helping launch CompuServe UK, later as vice-president of electronic commerce at CMP Media Inc., and most recently as president and CEO of Paperloop.com, a business-to-business site for the paper and printing industries. "He's Scottish, so there's a bit of an accent," the recruiter concluded. "But you'll get past that."
At 11:30 the next morning I met Colin in our conference room. We started with small talk. "How did you feigned your apartment?" he asked -- about five times, until my Scottish-translation algorithms clicked in, and I told him how I found my apartment.
Zen joined in, firing rounds of questions like one of those hypercaffeinated detectives in the police dramas. Colin would be in the middle of describing how he hired 40 people for a new business unit, when Zen would break in demanding that he explain his views on fun in the workplace. After about 30 minutes of Zen's constant interruptions, Colin got fed up, walked behind Zen's chair, and kicked him in the butt. Yes, I thought, this is our man. Thankfully, Zen expressed no indications of arousal.
Jennifer says you can't hire a senior executive without sharing a meal, so I invited Colin for dinner that evening at a trendy Italian restaurant. Over risotto and chardonnay he talked about how he saw e-mail as the Web's killer app and personal recommendation as a way to deliver ever more targeted communications to customers. What I found most impressive were his character and his penchant for speed, which is critical in our industry. "I don't have time to drag this out," he said. "My guess is we already know if we're right for each other. So let's make a decision and get going."
After checking about 20 references and sharing the feedback with our board, we made an offer. As Scott predicted, it included a huge part of the company in stock, plus a very CEO-like salary. Colin accepted and reported for work the next day.
Things are different since Colin joined us. People show up at 8 a.m. instead of 10:30. Our logo and Web site now reflect our business-to-business focus, and more investors are returning our calls. Our Foosball table has migrated from the office entrance to the back, and Colin regularly whoops everyone's butt. (I assume that the Scottish are brought up on the game; it's the only possible explanation.) Most important, the company is energized and working well as a team. Colin's style is to give people lots of responsibility and challenge them to stretch their limits. For example, Doug Gross, a former account manager, now heads up sales. Chirika Patterson, our office manager, also runs recruiting.
So what do I do now that Colin is the big cheese, and I am merely first among lesser dairy products? For now, my title is chief operating officer. That means I help Colin run the financial side of the business, and I work with customers to implement our services. After our next round of financing, my role will probably change again. Shanti kids me that I'm working my way down to CTO -- chief toner officer -- where my responsibilities will consist of keeping the printer healthy and ordering sodas for the engineers. I'm not sure how that will play on dates, but at least I'll have more time to go out on them.
Andrew Raskin, the cofounder and former CEO of Gazooba Corp., is now a full-time seeker of opportunities in Silicon Valley and beyond.
Andy Raskin is CEO -- no, wait, COO (sob, choke) -- of Gazooba Corp., in San Francisco.
E-Diaries:
Episode 1: A New Beginning
The Game of the Name
Take My Job Offer, Please. Pretty Please
There's No Such Thing as a Free Launch
Gimme Shelter
Bridge Financing over the River Scared
Let the Good Times Roll
There's a New Man in Town
I Really Must Be Going
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