Upon hearing that Electronic Arts CFO Warren Jenson is leaving to pursue other interests, you have to wonder: does this have anything to do with the ongoing Take Two takeover bid? Probably. Maybe the Board or CEO pushed him out because it’s taking too long, maybe it was not handled efficiently. Who knows. But it got me thinking: how impatient some people can be when money is at stake.
This past weekend, I was doing a Q1 2008 recap and realized that things have really grown a lot in one quarter. WatchMojo.com launched its syndication network officially in Summer 2007.
- From Q3 2007 to Q4 2007, our quarterly streams grew 791%.
- From Q4 2007 to Q1 2008, our quarterly streams have grown 828% (as of March 24 2008).
Each month, our streams have grown:
- July to August, 2007: 47%
- August to September, 2007: 64%
- September to October, 2007: 30%
- October to November, 2007: 28%
- November to December, 2007: 16%
- December 2007 to January 2008: 8%
- January to Februar, 2008: 16%
- February to March, 2008: 101%
This begs the question: we were growing each month, but for a few months, our growth rate slowed down. During that period: would that have forced a VC to push me out and replace me? Maybe.
We grew over 100% this past month… what if next month we grow by 50% “only” or 5%, or gasp, what if we shrink for a month or two? Is my ass on the line, then?
Don’t get me wrong, we are busting our butt trying to get more distribution deals and more syndication partnershis… but what if for a month of two growth is not constant and in an upwards fashion? Is that a pardonable crime? I have no clue.
VCs are known to be fickle and impatient… would they step in and demand uninterrupted, constant growth? Probably not every month… but what is the threshold? You hear so many companies ask CEOs or founders to leave… sometimes it’s because the growth rate is stalling, sometimes it has nothing to do with the company… but the point remains: if the EA acquisition of TTWO did not go through, CFO Jenson left. If company growth slows down, particularly a startup’s, does the CEO get replaced?
I have no idea what the answer to this question is, nor do I want to paint all VCs with the same brush, but I do wonder what the answer to this question is.
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