Comments on: Dark Clouds over Skype?

By: Om Malik on Broadband : » For Skype, One More Headache Called Yahoo

Om Malik on Broadband : » For Skype, One More Headache Called Yahoo — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 02:53:33 +0000

[...] The ink on the $4.1 billion eBay-Skype deal is almost dry and already competitors are lining up to rain on Skype’s parade. If the regulatory/incumbent problems were not enough, here comes news that Yahoo will soon upgrade its Messenger’s dialout/dial in features to compete with SkypeIn/SkypeOut. [...]

By: skip skyeper

skip skyeper — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 20:41:52 +0000

If you work for a company, you do not automatically get a payout if it is sold. period. You are hired to do a job, nothing else.
As for “executives leaving”, these are people who were doing a job for not much money, now being snapped up by companies offering large salaries. (thinking these execs have unique talents)

By: Om Malik : » Introducing The Daily Journal … Feeva, Skype, Google and More

Sat, 26 Nov 2005 20:38:39 +0000

[...] Mark commenting on my Skype piece commenting on Andy’s reporting, has Jeff Pulver in a tizzy, and he is yelling from his Long Island rooftop – “Enough with the Skype Gossip.” Jeff, want us to gossip about his latest project, Vivox which has received $6 million in funding from Cannan Partners and Grand Banks Capital, and is based on the Free World Dial-Up platform. Business 2.0 blog says “an online dating site can use Vivox to offer instant messaging, VoIP phone calls , and even video chat to its members. Moreover, Vivox can make the calls anonymous.” Okay, Jeff you got it, but now you have to make this the greatest thing since Skype, or no gossip-for-you. [...]

By: Skype: Trouble in Paradise -- Alec Saunders .LOG

Skype: Trouble in Paradise -- Alec Saunders .LOG — Sat, 26 Nov 2005 17:15:24 +0000

[...] Following my November 22 post on a Skype reorganization being in the works, Andy Abramson posted some more on what he’s been hearing, and then Om Malik and Mark Evans jumped on the story. My take: I’ve been through plenty of big company reorgs, and this is probably a lot like one of those. It can take as long as six months to figure out where all the second order bits are, and what everyone’s new job is. Unfortunately, with Google breathing down their necks, the Skypers are short on time. [...]

By: Khabri

Khabri — Sat, 26 Nov 2005 02:41:14 +0000

According to my reliable sources, Google wanted to buy Skype for $400 million but the latter refused. Ask me, $400 Million was the right price. I think the difference lies in the background of the CEOs. Whitman has a solid sales background. She got carried away and signed the deal at 10 times the premium. Dr Eric, who is one of the first compiler tools writer(lex/yacc) knows how easy it is to develop a VoIP product and doesn’t have to bother about the rock solid Google brandname. eBay Sucks!

By: Robert Scoble

Robert Scoble — Sat, 26 Nov 2005 01:40:51 +0000

This report matches what I’m hearing from the company. I’m hearing morale internally is very low. The employees thought they were going to change the world, not be sold.

By: utopiaoverip.com » Dark Days ahead for Skype?

utopiaoverip.com » Dark Days ahead for Skype? — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 23:36:25 +0000

[...] Yes, they just were bought by eBay for $4.1 billion, but that doesn’t mean everyone and everything will remain the same at the company. Om Malik is suggesting that there are dark clouds ahead for Skype in his latest post. “Andy Abramson, who is supposed to be on vacation in Europe has dug-up information that some Skypersâ are headed to the exits. For instance, Andy reports, that Pooj Preena, Skypeâs biz dev guy based in San Francisco has left the company. He helped craft the deal with Linksys for example. Some employees, especially those in Estonia, as per Andyâs account, did not make anything as a result of the deal. âThat two days before the sale to eBay employees were told by (Niklas ZennstrÃ¶m) that the he would never sell the company,â? Andy writes.” [...]

By: Rick

Rick — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 22:07:26 +0000

That’s called a VC or partner. Employees of private companies don’t have contracts for the sale of a company. Such payment comes from the heart, not paper.

By: KenC

KenC — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 21:46:59 +0000

Valuable employees should have bonuses written into their contracts, if they’re expecting something when the company is sold.

By: Rick

Rick — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 19:14:11 +0000

Two points to make here:

1. If I worked for a small outfit that hit a jackpot and didn’t get a portion, I would be out too. One of the joys of working for a small emerging company is the risk/reward you take. You should share the reward as well as the risk.

2. Having had time to comtemplate, I cannot believe EBay paid the monumental amount for Skype. Look what Cisco got for a couple more billion. That’s just one comparison.