Every start-up is like a tender sapling, that after tender loving care by the founder, needs a constant gardner (or two) before it can put roots, and become a tree that survives the vagaries of nature, and test of time. And for my little company, that time is now. And
After 12 sleepless months of guiding GigaOM and our network of websites along with Liz, Katie, Carleen and Joey, it became clear that we would need some help before we set off on the second mile of this marathon called start-up life.
I sat down in a quiet cafe, took a piece of paper, and wrote down what we did right, and what we did wrong in the first 12 months. It didn’t take very long to realize, that we needed a solid business and operations expert, who could put structure in place for measured and sustainable growth. And that is when Paul Walborsky called me.
I have known Paul for over a decade; we were introduced by my best friend, Deepak Talwar who runs an art gallery in New York. D, as we like to call him, was Paul’s room mate in business school, and at the time was leaving the investment banking world to co-found WorldStreet Corp., a CRM company for the financial services industry.
I ended up writing about WorldStreet for Forbes.com and got to know Paul well during the reporting process. By then he had moved to Boston to focus on WorldStreet, which was acquired by Thomson Financial in 2002. Life happened and we lost touch.
Till recently, when he moved to California to start another company, Grupo Arca, Inc., a leading membership club for Hispanics in the U.S, growing the company to over 40,000 members and $3 million in revenue. He later joined Hercules Technology Growth Capital as Managing Director of the Technology Practice. Being in the Bay Area we reconnected and often met for coffee and heated debates about technology.
As I started searching for a chief operating officer, it dawned upon me that the person ideally suited for this job was right under my nose. Analytical, even keeled, quiet and understated with a keen business mind, Paul was the ideal candidate to partner up with, as we grow this company forward. My investors and advisors met with him, and concurred. All that remained was to convince him. Fast forward to now: dear readers, let me present to you, Paul, my new COO.
Paul will focus on non-editorial parts of our company working with Mike Sly, VP of Sales and Joey Wan, Manager of Business Operations. I will be spending most of my time reporting, writing, and helping other editorial staff, as we grow the network, both in depth and reach.
In order to do that, we have Carolyn Pritchard joining the team. Carolyn joins us from MarketWatch.com, a division of Dow Jones, where she was a health-care reporter, and flash desk editor. She, like most of us has grown up with pressure of deadlines as a constant companion. She joins us as Managing Editor of the GigaOM Network.
In simple words, she is going to keep us running, giving stories a look over, helping with deadlines, edits and of course being a constant cheer provider. One of the reasons she impressed me was her can-do and positive attitude. While Carolyn is going to captain the editorial ship during the day, she also (will) make sure that I don’t make grammatical boo-boos (as I often do, to the chagrin of many of my readers) and be a great sounding board going forward.
The journey ahead is hard, but with new friends and old cohorts, it is going to be fun. I am excited. Hopefully you will join me in welcoming Paul and Carolyn to our little world.
Oh, one more thing - I am going to go to sleep early today: thanks to their presence, my inbox is all clear for now!
29 comments so far
11:38 PM PT
Welcome Paul and Carolyn, and hey Om,
“While Carolyn is going to captain the editorial ship during the day, she also (will) make sure that I don’t make grammatical boo-boos (as I often do, to the chagrin of many of my readers) and be a great sounding board going forward.”
Forgot the “will”
11:43 PM PT
Hey mark, as I said… I need help. thanks for looking out.
11:51 PM PT
Hi Om,
Congratulations on completing a wonderful first year and bringing on board new stars for the future growth. It has been simply amazing to see the kind of impact you have created in just one year.
I have no doubt you are going to be a major player in this space.
Well done; all the best.
Cheers,
Sushil.
11:56 PM PT
So I hope that you will have more time for the “Voice” section of GigaOM. That’s the one I like most, but there were fewer articles lately.
Maybe you should fill the gap with more stories from abroad? :)
11:59 PM PT
More Voice, More Broadband, More Everything. It is time to get c-erious. Content serious i mean.
thanks Markus
2:01 AM PT
Congrats on all the new additions.
4:52 AM PT
[...] is therefore such a pleasure for me to read Om’s post about GigaOM’s graduation to the next level of start-up growth. Bringing on board key hires [...]
5:08 AM PT
Congratulations Om,
looking forward to the second year of gigaom!
you guys rock
-kenny
6:50 AM PT
Congrats Om! Hopefully now you’ll even have some free time again! :)
7:07 AM PT
Congrats Om!
7:21 AM PT
Congrats on the growth. I hope you guys continue to grow well!!! I think the GigaOM show will do well also.
http://startupflames.com
7:41 AM PT
Just a year?
Wow thats some serious progress.
Great work Om! I bet this change will allow you to focus on creativity vs being stuck in day to day administrivia.
Now you can focus on becoming the next Web Video star ;-)
7:42 AM PT
Om, what’s up with the show not being in HD on iTunes. MacBreak is in HD and you called for higher quality video on the web but your show is in low res, what’s up with that? Trying to hide your flaws or something? Know one looks at you anyway, WE NEED JOYCE IN HD!!!
7:53 AM PT
Congratulations Om on the growth. Welcome Paul and Carolyn!
8:42 AM PT
So I guess GigaOm is now diversifying from Broadband Networks into Digital Nervous Systems on GigaHealth ? Kewl.
9:03 AM PT
Very smart move Om! Congrats and happy sleeping :-)
9:13 AM PT
Congrats! All that’s left is acquiring ZNF. ;)
9:30 AM PT
GigaOM is developing into a new media Ompire. ;)
9:31 AM PT
Hi Om:
Congratulations for completing one year of service to netizens. I have been following your blog for quite sometime. Great stuff, intellectual and very engrossing. Frankly, I don’t start my day without seeing your blog. Keep up the great work.
omfut
9:37 AM PT
Congrats Om!
10:27 AM PT
Congrats, Om. I heard a whisper or two at the wedding, but wanted to wait for it to be official to say congrats, and glad to see you guys growing and growing.
2:15 PM PT
Congrats, Om. Focus on what you do best, grow the biz, and keep inspiring us with your talents and Vision.
2:53 PM PT
Congrats Om and welcome Paul and Carolyn!
5:24 PM PT
Here’s raising a glass to you and the rest of TeamGiga. Best, Sameer
7:07 PM PT
Congratulations to Om, Paul and Carolyn. The wellspring of inspiration that is GigaOm continues to deepen.
10:44 PM PT
Hearty congratulations, Om. I’m truly happy to see you being so successful.
It’s been a long time since those less than happy days in that office on University Avenue.
Best regards,
Bill
7:49 AM PT
Congrats Om,
I know you work like a maniac. Also, while I heart Techcrunch (Arrington I promise, really promise, this is no diss) but Gigaom is more focused and I love reading it. However, you shouldn’t get more rest, just spend more time writing and covering everything Noocleus Media :). Best wishes for everything GigaOM, startups in general, the new web, and new money.
11:25 AM PT
Paul is a rock star! GREAT choice Om!
2:34 AM PT
[...] put down roots, and tiny leaves started to sprout, I realized that we needed a constant gardener. So we brought in Paul, who in first two months has taught me how to dream big. Mike joined hands to bring some of his [...]
Leave a Comment