This is a tough post to write. Not because I'm not excited and not because the news I want to share isn't positive, but simply because I feel like I've been keeping something from you for the past few weeks, and I hate doing that. Of course, it's nowhere near as tough as hiding my Super Bowl engagement from Mystery Guest for 6 months, but I have those same pangs of guilt about keeping this all under wraps. Maybe by the end of this post, I'll feel a lot better.
First up (yes, there's lots of big news) is that we've decided to go the outside investment route. We're giving up an undisclosed (but small) percentage of the company (sorry, had to keep that one piece under wraps) for precisely $1.1million in outside capital. After the strong emotions that came out when I asked for everyone's opinion on the subject back in August, I feel like I have to justify this decision - and that's OK. I should have to justify it. If I can't justify it to all of you, how can I possibly justify it to myself? So here goes:
The decision was made based on the fact that we want to do more - and grow faster. The premium content stuff isn't just fun and interesting, it's something we love - something we're passionate about - something we think can make the web a better place by making search marketers smarter - better, stronger, faster. We literally have a hundred different ideas for tools, search analytics, tracking, guides, resources and more and we're in a position to recruit help from the best and brightest the industry has to offer... but, we can't do it alone.
Let me make this totally clear - this money is going to change SEOmoz - it's going to change the quality of the services we provide, it's going to change the quality of the people we can attract, it's going to change our ability to market ourselves on a bigger stage, but (big, big but), it's not going to change our culture or our style or our approach to doing what we love to do - search marketing. The biggest outcry I felt from folks was the "Noooo!! Don't sell out to the man," line. I promise you, we are doing anything but. First off, the "man" is actually Michelle Goldberg, a partner at Ignition, a VC firm based a few miles from SEOmoz in Bellevue, WA. You can't really get much further from the definition of "the man" than Michelle, but since she's agreed to be on our Whiteboard Friday series in a few weeks, you'll get to see her in person and find out why we like her so much.
Michelle and Ignition are investing in us because they love what we do. They love the blog, the community, the culture, the crazy, comic-filled, over-disclosed, personal, grassroots style of SEOmoz and the world of SEO that we inhabit. Due to the small size of the investment and the small percentage of ownership, we're not being asked to grow at an uncomfortable pace. Instead, they're backing us by saying - we believe in you, we love the SEO space, we love the SEOmoz brand and we want to see where you can take this. Gillian and I have thought long and hard, and we've talked to some really, really smart people about the decision. I've personally had 40 or more phone calls in the last three weeks with people who've taken VC and had both good and bad experiences. We've shared the terms of our deal with a half dozen very experienced, fiercely loyal friends (including these guys) and received the same response every time - this is a good deal (and, with so many potential investors asking after us, we felt fairly confident that it would be).
Michelle's also not the only investor - Ignition is actually partnering with a local, private investment firm called Curious Office for a share of the SEOmoz pie (if we were a flavor, we'd definitely be blackberry). The guys behind Curious (Kelly Smith & Adrian Hanauer) are similarly compelling people, and once again, they'll be part of a future Whiteboard Friday, so stay tuned.
Naturally, there will be some formalization. We'll be building a board of directors, but Gillian and I will retain a controlling interest in that entity, so we're not losing control, we're getting help to guide our strategy, rather than a board that determines our moves. We've also been tasked to recruit an outsider to serve on the board, and a very good friend (despite her quiz criticism) is talking to us about that position, which we're thrilled about. And, of course, Gillian and I will start to take home real salaries, rather than taking pride in our positions as SEOmoz's two worst-paid employees :) I think I might just be able to afford that wedding to Mystery Guest next summer.
So, what, specifically, are we going to do with the money? Good question - glad you asked :)
- Invest in people - people are our biggest resource, and with our staff getting competing job offers every other day, we need to make sure that we can compensate our team at market rates (we've been playing the scrimp and save game a long time).
- Attract great new talent - look for a blog post in the near future on our recruiting efforts. We're planning to go from 7 to 12 on the team full time over the next 6 months.
- Build better technology - the tools are great, and we're getting relatively good accuracy, but it's not good enough, and it certainly can't support the kind of growth we want to see. We want to build truly scalable technology to provide you with the information you need, updated when and how you need it.
- Market to a wider audience - I'm no fan of throwing money at marketing, especially when SEO & word of mouth have been so successful. However, I do think it's valuable to test the waters and see what works - print, radio, trade show booths, sponsorships and a serious push into business and partnership development.
- Take some chances - While we're planning to be conservative with the investment (none of the standard, blow-through-the-money-in-6-months then ask for more), we will be able to take some risks and invest in projects that don't have a guaranteed outcome. Developer time, analysis time and hardware resources will all be a part of what we do here, and hopefully a few of these projects will provide remarkable value (while others will help to serve as lessons of what not to do). One of the things we want to try - building our own search engine on a small scale :)
Finally, when thinking about this investment, I was reminded by a friend to go with my gut. I can't say that I knew to go with the deal from the beginning, but I can say that my early impression of Michelle and Ignition felt right. If you've read Malcolm Gladwell's book - Blink - I'm sure you'll remember the part about how thinking a lot about a very complex issue often produces the wrong results, while following an instinctual, instantaneous reaction is more often right. I'll excerpt:
How can thinking that takes place so quickly be at all useful? Don't we make the best decisions when we take the time to carefully evaluate all available and relevant information?
Certainly that's what we've always been told. We live in a society dedicated to the idea that we're always better off gathering as much information and spending as much time as possible in deliberation. As children, this lesson is drummed into us again and again: haste makes waste, look before you leap, stop and think. But I don't think this is true. There are lots of situations--particularly at times of high pressure and stress--when haste does not make waste, when our snap judgments and first impressions offer a much better means of making sense of the world.
I'm not saying we didn't think about this long and hard and with a lot of perspectives on the information. All I'm saying is that, at the end of the process, we did a gut check - we asked ourselves, without any caveats or qualifiers, is this the right partner, the right deal, the right terms, the right time? And the answers came up yes.
Now a quick aside - the deal isn't finished yet. We're still going through the due diligence process (yes, I will have a long and in-depth blog post describing the entire VC path from pitch to funding once it's all over). The process should be wrapped up by the middle of October at the very latest. In the meantime, Gillian is handling all the paperwork and finances and discussions while I'm working with the team to set up our strategy for the future. To say we're busy is an understatement :)
One final note on the outside investment - when we decided to accept this money, we took a step in a direction that will probably end with the sale of SEOmoz (as we're most likely not a target to go public). I think that this is one of the other big fears that members and commenters had - and I can completely empathize. However, I will say this - I'm in this for the long haul, and even though SEOmoz may, in 4-7 years, be part of another company, I'm going to do my damndest to make sure that all the great things about us get preserved. Gillian and I didn't want to make just another corporate services company and that's never been in the cards for us. If and when a buyer does decide they're interested, we retain the right to say yes or no (a rare privilege in most VC investments, but something that is written into our deal). I can promise that for the next few years, SEOmoz is going to be even more exciting and more valuable than it's been in the past - that's what we care about. The money is great, and an increase in profitability is certainly a good target for us as well, but that's NOT what SEOmoz is about. We are, and always have been about providing value to the community of search marketers who've given us so much. Above all else, this investment is a way for us to give back in a big way and, hopefully, to build a great business while we're at it.
Unfortunately, along with this good news, there's some bad news. Our longtime friend and the talented architect of the SEOmoz website, Matt Inman, is leaving SEOmoz at the end of the month. He actually had decided to leave before we started down the VC route, so the two are, oddly, unconnected. Matt's been hankering to be his own entrepreneur and has finally taken the first step down that path. He's staying in the Seattle area and will continue to provide us with support and consulting a few hours a week as needed.
One of my favorite photos of Matt - the SEOmoz team took a hike on Mt. Rainier where a local chipmunk (whom we affectionately named 'Pork Chop') was enamored of him (or his snacks; we're not sure which)
Obviously, Matt's been an incredible asset to SEOmoz and has, through his tireless efforts on the design of our projects, the development of the SEOmoz tool suite and his frequent Digg-bait blog posts, made us who we are today. He'll be sorely missed.
In his place, Jeff Pollard, who's been with us nearly two years now, will fill in as the leader of our development team. He's done some pretty exciting work as well, including a soon-to-be-launched section of the SEOmoz website that's new, different and (I think) incredibly valuable :) Jeff's been joined by our most recent full-time hire, Mel Gray, formerly of Austin, TX. Mel has a background in PHP, Perl and lots of heavy development, and he's as hard working and dedicated a guy as we could hope for. Mel is just getting into the swing of things here at SEOmoz, but he's already helping out with the tools, the servers and some of our SEO testing projects.
Mel gives the universal sign indicating coding prowess, while Jane covers her laughter in the background (those Kiwis can be so mean)
And, Mel's not the only addition to our team. We're also proud to welcome Lucas Ng, aka shor - some folks may remember that I did a video with him a few weeks back. Lucas works for Fairfax Digital, one of Australia's most respected media organisations and owners of websites like the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and domain.com.au. He'll be contributing to SEOmoz part-time - giving up his nights and weekends to write blog posts, answer questions in Q+A and contribute to our general strategic direction. After spending a week with him here in Seattle, we found that we couldn't live without him :)
Lucas, looking dapper at a meeting of SEOs Anonymous
What's that? You want more news? You haven't had enough of us? Fine... Rebecca (who's off at Shop.org in Vegas) is blogging on Shoemoney today, answering dozens of questions about her job, SEO and her personal life (which mostly revolves around movies) :)
Which segues nicely to the end of this post - I really liked the Q+A format that Shoemoney put together on his blog and I'd like to take a page from that book. Feel free to ask me anything you like in the comments below and I'll try to address the questions in a blog post tomorrow or Thursday. I'm guessing there might be some strong reactions to all of this, and I'm happy to be public about as much as I possibly can.
p.s. Tomorrow I should be back to the business of normal blogging; tackling some site architecture issues and touching on the news of the recently banned directories. I've also got an interview with Marshall Simmonds from the NYTimes next week about the opening of their TimesSelect content, which should be very interesting.
p.p.s. Quick stats for those who are interested - we've got 1287 premium members as of today, and 47,111 people who've signed up to use the free tools or leave a comment. :)
From someone who has been there, done that a few times.
1) It's not a deal until the check clears. It sounds like you've signed a term sheet and are now in due diligence. Unfortunately, due diligence is just the start of negotiations. It's how the VCs lock you up from other investors (you had to agree to exclusivity, didn't you?) while they find reasons to amend the terms. I'll bet the $1.25M doesn't come in one chunk -- it will be a series of payments when certain milestones are met.
2) $1.25M may sound like a lot, but it's not. It's not nearly enough to make a difference. The VCs know this. They underfund companies like this because they know you'll need additional rounds to survive once your expense rate goes up.
3) Was one of the synergies offerered that you could do SEO for their other portfolio companies? Watch out, when it comes time to collect the VCs will have no part in it. In fact, it's in their interest for you to be financially stretched so you'll have to cave in the next round of funding. Tell them you want the VC to guarantee payment on any work you do for a portfolio company. If they balk, run away!
4) Your small percentage becomes much more when other terms start to kick in. Did you agree to a triple net liquidation? How about a ratchet in additional rounds? They'll agree to any pre-money valuation because they know they'll get their cash back out on the other side at your expense.
5) VCs don't need to have control of the board to control the company. They just need the right to approve certain transactions. Check your term sheet for what they have the right to approve, and think of all the bad ways that could be used.
6) The person you're working with may be wonderful, but is there any guarantee that she won't move on to developing the next company in 6 months and you'll get the evil stepsister? How is it she was able to spend so much time with you if she's got a full portfolio?
VC money can be a very good thing in the right situation, but you have to take enough of it to make a difference. If you're already profitable, you don't need the money. If you need the money to make your business model work, then it's not going to work when the money runs out.
Judging from the outside, you should not do this deal. I can tell from the excitement level in your post that none of these warnings will make sense, so just file this away and reread them in a year.
Boondoggie - don't worry; we've considered all of the questions you've asked (well, at least, Gillian has) and been extremely pleased. Maybe we can tackle some of your questions/concerns in a future blog post :)
Boondoggie's questions are the only pointed ones on the comments, which is a little disheartening when that's what was asked for in the blog post. Aside from his,
What growth projections are you aiming to achieve with the venture capital? (I suppose this could be answered in dollar figures, member sign ups, or software additions.)
In your current situation, what does not having the VC prevent?
With Premium Content and mozpoints you have tiered involvement from contributors (100 points and nofollow is removed, 150 in a month and the member is considered for a free premium...) Are there any other plans in place to harness community involvement?
That's about it for me. The news sounds good, but keep doing your best to never let the company be undervalued. I've seen some sell for way too little, so make every effort to get valuations for what you do/offer/make/have etc. It might seem tedious but it'll be key when you reach that day that you're considering sale.
Wow, lots of changes! Best of luck to SEOmoz and Matt as well.
My question: I'm in the market for some yellow sneakers. Where would be a good place to obtain some yellow sneakers?
Rand, good news if you decided you needed the funding to scale effectively, though an affiliate program and a little product launch formula might well have raised some decent capital fast.
Matt here is one option
https://www.like.com/mensshoes/yellow
Yes, are we going to see SeoMoz branded Yellow sneakers as part of the deal?
Stay tuned for Rand's next community poll: "Should SEOmoz (hypothetically) sign a deal with Puma?" followed shortly by the post: "Free yellow shoes for life, baby!" :)
Rand I think your decision put a smile on Matt's face (note his new profile pic) :)
Matt,
Yo, you know I got that sneaker hook up dawg, Just ask Rand.
I can make a call and have the marketing department of your favorite brand send you what ever you want.
BTW How are the PUMA's holding up Rand? Need a re-up?
P.S. Congrats, Rand what I don't get is why you just don't become a super affiliate, you can make 1.25 mil in under a year with your skills? and you won't have to have anyone new to answer too.
I'm very excited to see SEOmoz move into a new phase and there's lots of potential here. The enthusiasm of the mozzers is awesome.
'Course, as Rand mentioned, they've asked me to consider a board position and I'm certainly honored to be asked, but I'll need to talk with them quite a bit more about what it would involve before I would commit to anything like that.
I haven't yet accepted any board positions I've been offered as it's not something to be taken lightly and it needs to be a good fit all around.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes. . .
I think this is great news, as a matter of fact. I've always felt that my premium membership fee is more than a justified cost, but I expect it to be even better now. I'm sure you guys will be really upping the ante with a cool $1.25 million in your money clip. You high rollers, you.
To Matt: Godspeed. You have everyone's respect here and just about everywhere else, and I don't think anybody doubts your abilities and likelihood to succeed in whatever you deem to be a worthy endeavor.
To Rand: Wishing I lived in Seattle, because I'd be tripping over myself to be considered for one of those five openings at SEOmoz. I'm sure you'll have no problem filling them.
Tonight I'll drink to a better SEOmoz for mozzers everywhere! - (I needed an excuse)
sheesh - i get thumbs down for that? somebody out there hates my guts apparently.
Mike this is a problem I've noticed. I often get thumbs down for the most bland comments. SEOMoz is great and I love the system here, but wherever you are you're always going to get people who abuse and misuse the faciliities instead of getting a life. Ho hum.
Thanks everyone - sad to see Matt go, but excited for the future.
When SEOmoz asks one of their readers to join them in the next phase of their excellent adventure, you begin to plumb the depth of SEOmoz' community-first commitment. Who else would do that?
Yep, SEOmoz will work it harder, make it better, do it faster and make it stronger...
Congrats Lucas. You've been providing some of the best comments here for as long as I can remember so it was about time Rand made you part of the team.
Congrats my friend! You're a great addition to their team :)
Check your "recently banned directories" link.
Mozzers, I'm glad that you'll get to do the type of creative work that you really want to do. Smart move. (Not smart to let Matt get away; quick--offer him more money or something.)
OMG! That IS some big ass news guys! Congratulations SEOmoz, I think it sounds like a cracking deal! Well done! I have no doubt that you will preserve the attitude and community you have built up, after all, it's all about the people not the money behind =)
I'm gutted Matt is leaving though =( But hopefully he will be around the sphere. Got a feeling I know what his new adventure is about ;-) Are you still coming to Vegas in December Matt? Not that I have some crazy plan on getting you drunk and marry you in some seedy Elvis wedding chapel....erm...cough cough.
And welcome Shor, looking forward to read your blogposts =)
Yup, I'm still going to pubcon. I've even got my rental tuxedo reserved so we can finally tie the knot. :)
And by "rental tuxedo" he obviously means "tuxedo t-shirt."
Lisa's already got the wedding meal planned - apparently at some chapels you get a free burger & fries....
EDIT - Who'd have thought that burger & fries would get me to 1,000 points.
That calls for a burger..
Ciaran, you can be bridesmaid ;0)
Did you meet her on Mingle2? (sorry Matt, you opened that door)
onward + upward; godspeed!
Rand,
As an a SEO Noob, I've bothered Matt at least 4-5 times. Not once has he seemed exasperated or less than thrilled to answer my questions.
He will be missed.
As far as the sale of SEOMoz goes, I am a little saddened.
It's as if Whole Foods was buying Trader Joe's. I could understand the reasoning, and I enjoy shopping both places, but I absolutely love "Joe's".
Anytime that you accept other people's money, you accept other people's input.
It remains to be seen whether that input is valuable or not.
Good luck, and a cautious "congratulations".
Crazy changes but best of luck to you. I'm actually excited to see what will come. Congratulations!
But I will miss Matt. A lot. :(
He will still be here, you dummy :P He's even going to still come to lunch with us because he'll miss us so much :D
Congrats Lucas!! and Matt congrats to you too. Vanessa, the food isn't as good at SEOmoz, but I hear the people are great :)
Rand, if I am reading this right, there will still be free drinks at the parties right?
If so, then I can't see any negatives in this, only positives and oportunity and t-shirts, which are nice things to have. What is the timeline on the tshirts?
Happy new beginnings! I am drinking in your honor!
At least someone is focused on the important stuff. We still have authority to stand you a drink, my friend.
And even better that someone in managing the important stuff...
Beeeeeeeer!
That's a lot of beers.
Congratulations to Rand and the whole SEOmoz team. A wise decision indead. Ventures such as this is a boost to the growth of the company.
And a heartly welcome to the cruise of seomoz for new team members.
Matt : My Best wishes for a Brighter and Empowering future. Best Luck mate.
Very cool - congratulations! Getting VC is exactly what you just wrote. Good luck and don't forget to hook me up with Scott!
Wow, congratulations Rand & SeoMoz guys! This is a huge step. I'm excited to see the best SEO blog/resource around will get even bigger, with even more useful content.
On a personal note, I'm bummed that I'm not on the right coast. I would have loved to apply for one of your new positions. My quiz score suggests I may have been in the hunt. ;)On a side note about the premium content: I've thought about it for a while, but how about giving your premium members sort of a short summary (5-10 lines) of each new blog post? This would allow to quickly scan entries, and know the most importants things. I know I sometimes can't keep up with the blog posting frequency.
Once again, congrats SeoMoz, and best of luck in all of the upcoming changes!!
Congrats on the raise Rand...now get back to work! Seriously though, I think it's a good business decision to accelerate the growth of SEOmoz considering all of the momentum that you have created for your brand. I've long felt that for all of the thought leadership you folks provide, the company should be significantly larger and more profitable. On the other hand, it will be a sad day when SEOmoz gets gobbled up through acquisition. In the meantime, I'm sure that premium members will reap the rewards of SEOmoz's growth.
It's uber-lame that Matt's leaving. Who am I going to throw crap at and pester incessantly now? Mel and Shor, you better be ready for me to test the waters with you...
I thought that was a job requirement of the lead developer? :-/
You're too nice to give the appropriate "Ginap! Ginap!" response when I pester.
I'll have to stay late at the office and work on it I guess.
If you need some pointers let me know. I could make an mp3 of gnapping, it could help you practice while I'm away.
No one will ever beat your ginapping, Matt. I'll hear, "HEY!" and expect that you're about to yell at me, and all you have to say is, "um... yeah. Hey. You want to go get lunch now?"
Although my gut reaction to this post is "oh no!" - I want to congratulate Rand and Gillian. You guys have grown a very sweet fruit that you deserve to harvest however you see fit, I've been watching this company grow for a while and I have always been astounded how much hard work you have put into it. Serious research, careful planning, tons of polishing and elbow grease, and countless late nights with tired eyes blogging out some of the best content on the Web.
As much as I've enjoyed the potent, home-grown, hand-rolled, Rand-picked startup SEOmoz vibe - I am hoping this deal with give you some freedom and some slack. You deserve it.
Thanks for all the inspiration and great info - and I trust you will be able to keep it potent and flowing as the company structure evolves.
W.O.W.
Congrats, Rand and everyone at SEOmoz. A huge step, but I've no doubt it'll open up new doors for you and the community.
Matt - do keep us posted on what you're doing. I've no doubt big things are in store for you. You got mad skillz. :)
I think what is so exciting about this news is that you are sharing it with all with us. It has been an experience unlike any other to read about the growth of SEOmoz for the last 2 years. I feel like I'm watching and reading not only about a prodigal child, but about you and a team that are becoming the forefathers/foremothers of our industry. You and your team will make/have made an impact, not only about your open culture, but with the super-cool things you are innovating.
The only thing sad about your post is that it is in the cards to sell SEOmoz. But I guess Danny Sullivan closed one door but opened another, so I guess it shall be the same with you.
You are lucky to have an incredibly trusted member on your team - your mom, and to have a fiance by your side, which is really the most important thing in life. The stars are in alignment for you to do great things and I am happy to tag along for the ride.
All the best, keep sharing, and keep up the great work!
Risa
i really appreciate how open and honest you are with your membership. Good luck to Matt, I hope that when he gets his feet settled that we will see an announcement here. I am sure there are a few members who would gladly support his new venture if that opportunity presents itself.
Why did your choose a VC rather than a pure angel? In specific, what is it they brought to the table? (aside from money, of course!)
Great question. In some Whiteboard Friday I bet we'll get to see if Michelle can live up to the great work that the SEOMoz team is putting out.
Oh and is she gonna get an SEOMoz handle? Hint: she'd be wise to ;) I wanna see her working for Moz points just like the rest of us!
Congratulation Rand and Gillian. It has been my privilege to get to know all of you and to watch your company grow. I still remember when I first found your blog and read the Newsweek article picturing you and your yellow shoes. So much has happened since then and it is only right that you should reap some personal reward as you begin your exciting new journey taking SEOmoz to new heights. It sounds like you have found some terrific partners and that they will be a great fit.
Matt, heartfelt congratulations to you too. I am sorry to see you leave and excited for you all at the same time. If I can ever do anything for you, you know how to hunt me down.
So long as the content stays great, ownership is not an issue.
Sounds like you did the right thing. And going with your gut is always a reassurance, at least at a personal level, which will keep you focused on the long run.
I personally would like to see you guys doing more awesome free tools, and maybe get some profit via adversting. There are a lot of "medium" quality free SEO tools out there, but not a lot "high" quality ones. Your experience would be valuable and would for sure improve your brand awareness.
Good luck!
Free is good but you get what you pay for. I think for the price of a premium memberhsip compared to orher tool vendors SEOmoz offers great value.
I now have to convince my bank balance.
it sounds like an exciting few years ahead for SEOMoz - thanks for sharing.
Good luck for the future Matt.
Big news,
nice one! Glad to hear a descision has been reached, I think everything after the decision gets a bit easier. Looking forward to the future of the Moz.
@Matt - sorry to see you are going man, I'm certain your entrepreneurial ventures will work out for you (I'm in a very similar position myself at the moment).
Sounds like exciting times all round.
and hey Rand, if you ever want ot branch out into the UK drop me a line :)
What a classy, open and friendly way to make a business announcement. How very SEOMOZ-like of you, Rand. ;-)
Good luck and good work to you all!
Congrats bro, and GOOD, GOOD luck!
You've got nothing to explain, Rand. Running a company is hard work, and you have to make the best decision for you and your team. The fact that you care what the community thinks and are willing to work so hard to preserve it speaks volumes.
Best of luck to Matt: make him promise to pop back in from time to time and let the Mozzers know what he's up to.
I am looking forward to see what the NEWmoz looks like. Congratulations on the bold steps into the future. We are all rooting for your success.
Rand,
This was no doubt one of the toughest posts you've made, filled with all kinds of emotions.
I can't speak for everyone, but to me, this entire post was a positive one.
VC - yes, it's a big change, but I have no doubt that you and Gillian will do everything in your power to make sure that the core that forms SEOmoz will remain intact. And really smart investors know that there are some things you just don't screw with.
Oatmeal - yes, an SEOmoz with Oatmeal is like peanut butter without jelly... but you learn to adapt. Of course, I can't really imagine that Matt will be gone, just changing his role within the SEOmoz community. But it's also a very positive move, one that any of us who have made that move can understand and appreciate. Best of luck Matt.
mozCrew - and what more can I say other than you've built up an incredible team. Every member of your team has brought great talents and insights to the table. It has certainly been great interacting with them here on the blog and I can't imagine that changing. And hearing more from Shor on a regular basis is just icing on the cake.
Moving forward, a new chapter unfolds... and we your readers, await eagerly for all the goodness that will continue to flow from the Emerald City.
cheers
Congrats Rand and the SEOMoz team! I'm sure you'll look back on this moment in a year's time and think 'why didn't we do it sooner?'.
Congrats again!
This sounds like great news for SEOMoz and us the audience. The way I see it, SEOMoz is at the height of it's transparency and community spirit (just read these comments! it's a love fest here!). That's a great way to start this next chapter of SEOMoz history.
I'm looking forward to great new tools, articles, posts, and whatever else you and your new guys can come up with.
Matt, good luck, I bet the tools won't be the same. I'll miss reading your undying praise for Cake and discussions of how you went about developing the great stuff you've got here. Be sure to keep us informed about what you're up to now. I'm dying with curiosity!
Congrat's Rand.....I wish the best for you and the entire 'moz' staff.
Follow your dreams, follow your heart, and things will work out for the best.....
With Matt gone.....who will be answering all my emails. :p
Matt - thank you for your quick and accurate responses to any challenges I have had....best of luck!
Congratulations on the decision guys. I think it is great to see SEOmoz prospering and moving forward.
You guys always have had quality people throughout and will do well because of it.
Best of luck!
Rand,
I hope it all turns out the way you expect it to
My experiences with similar circumstances have been less than exemplarily.
Belated Congrats to the Moz team. Cheers to your next chapter!
That is awesome Rand. You guys deserve it! I can't wait to see what the future holds for your company.
All the best guys!
Congratulations! I am proud to be one of the 1289 premium members
Hi, Came across this page while researching about SEOmoz.
The Michelle Goldberg link is not working and leads to a 404.
I think we went from "principal" to "partner" within their firm.
Congrats Rand, hope it works out for you. I would love to know more about your "partners program" for the future.
Somehow I've been sleeping under a rock and just came accross your site. I think through Mashable. Congrats on the funding and I'm looking forward to reading your updates and soaking in your knowledge in the SEO world. Keep up the goodness!
2.7% conversion - shows alot of upside.
(number of premium / passive)
-.rb
p.s. 1.25 million - nice; good job not getting too much
Rand
Two huge personal events in less than a month..
Hope you love the stress and congratulations on pulling the VC Deal and yet maintaining artistic integrity.
Peace!
Congratulations Mozzers. I wish you every success with this new stage in your journey.
And adding Lucas is brilliant. I can't wait to read his posts.
Hey Rand,
"I will start to take home real salaries, rather than taking pride in our positions as SEOmoz's two worst-paid employees :) I think I might just be able to afford that wedding to Mystery Guest next summer."
We have a saying in Germany that fits that "Man kann nicht nur von Luft und Liebe ueberleben" which translates to "You can't live (and survive) from 'air' (oxygene) and 'love' alone.". I hope that the wedding plans for next year will work out for you and your fiance.
"Take some chances" You mean testing and research of new theretory and not "gambling". Did I get that right?
Overall I think that it was a good decision... Congratulations! I am looking forward to see the "fruits" of the financial "injection" in the (hopefully near) future.
I commented already at Matt's own post to his departure. There is nothing more for me to add to that.
Final words: "Money does not corrupt people, power does." Money in the right place, for the right thing and with the right people is a good thing, but watch out for that "power trap". :)
Cheers!
Good luck to you guys, I hope the funding works well for you.
My question:
With the extra money, are you going to buy your staff additional monitors? I was shocked when I saw your staff working on one monitor, but saw you Rand have 2 :)
I think you've got it backwards! Some of the staff have two monitors (or a laptop and a desktop side-by-side), but I just have one :) Jeff's trying out the two monitor layout, and Mel may do it as well. I think I'll probably stick to one, though.
Two monitors rocks, Rand. You should try it (even though at the moment I'm stuck on my little 12" laptop my main machine has 2 and I wouldn't go back).
Big up to multiple monitors! Takes multi-tasking to another level.
At my old job I had 3 HUGE Samsung monitors. I felt like I was Mission Control at NASA or something. I was multi-tasking like I was on methamphetamines. New job has only 1 - I'm pushing for two, but I had to complain about Carpal Tunnel pains in my wrists to get an ergonomic keyboard and mousepad so my expectations are low in that regard.
Ditto that....
but beware, once you go dual monitor, you can't use one without feeling like some part of you is missing!
It's kind of like flying first class versus.... cargo hold.
Congrats Rand,
Opportunities knock on the door and one just needs to grab them!
All the best wid ur efforts.
Regards
Best of luck - it is clear you want to hold on to the values that have made SEOMoz such a powerhouse in the industry. Inevitably, as any company grows holding on to these values can become increasingly difficult as new pressures enter the fray. However, I think I can speak for most when I say I am confident SEOMoz will stay true to its core objectives.
Rand you are a natural born superstar. Did I mention I was asking Gillian for advice on how to have kids like you guys (when I'm ready). Congratulations to you for making this happen - you've come a heck of a long way in a short amount of time and done really effin' well at it. And congratulations to Matt, Jeff & Lucas (and possibly Vanessa?) for your new endeavors. It will be exciting to see what you'll all have coming down the pipeline :)
I guess you prepared us for this post with the last one asking how we felt about the potential change. Some people will be happy, others sad, but in the end your responsibility was to you and SEOmoz and you had to make the decision you felt most comfortable making.
Congrats on the funding and I'll be interested in seeing the changes that happen in both the near and long term future.
Congrats Jeff on becoming development leader and welcome Mel and Lucas.
Matt, I know most everyone will be sad to see you leave, but good luck with your own endeavors. Something tells me you're going to do well and please do drop back in from time to time, And don't forget to let us know where we might be able to find you online.
You're right, VanGogh. There is something lost and something gained with every major decision such as this. However, I'd like to keep the record straight: we had NOT decided to take investment capital when Rand posted the blog entry asking for input.
We had been approached by numerous investors for some time. Only when we began to look at investment capital as something of potential value to us, did Rand ask for input from what has always been a supportive and intelligent community. We respect your opinions and value your experiences. And we're grateful for the many fair warnings that were posted. We struggled with our decision and when we came to the conclusion that the time had come to accept investment capital, the responses to Rand's call helped us forge a relationship that will protect us from those pitfalls.
A consistent decision and a great idea to get the resources you need to fullfill your vision for SEOmoz. Who can fault you? You built the house with your bare hands and now you are getting a mortgage to build that huge addition, right? Every home owner understands. Great decision Rand and Gillian and thanks for sharing the details. More great things to come.
Matt will have a blast and I thank him for the contributions that I have benefited from.
Shor, I always liked reading your posts because you seem to know what you are doing based on a lot of education and experience, so I am excited to learn that you will be around even more sharing your wisdom.
Your investors are lucky to have found such an investment, and so nearby.
Cheers!
Congrats Rand!
I'm glad you have seemed to have balanaced things in the way that you wanted to. That is great news!
Talk to you soon.
Rand and Team -
Congratulations on your success so far and having the courage to take the next step. Best of luck with your growth plans. There is nowhere to go but up.
@Matt - Good luck with the new venture. You've learned from the best, and I'm sure we haven't heard the last from you.
Congrats! Although I am not in the SEO click...yet, I have enjoyed watching you guys grow. I think the mere fact that you are posting about this in depth should give us "comfort" that you will still have the ability to be as open with the community as you have always been, despite the VC funding. I look forward to watching your continued growth and will cheer it on!
Congrats Matt - best of luck, I am sure you have a solid base working with this crew to get started on whatever you are doing.
It is a step you had to take, ´cause of the focus of your job. In expansion many things get lost or are made secondary, which is then not good for the business. We all followed your work and engagement and noone knew that you are growing that fast. Congratulation, you succeeded in a heavy marketing goal - we feel like home. So I hope you will be easy going with the new staff members and will be able to do more focused work and knowledge share.
Wow, wow, wow & good work shor!
Well, I can't say that I'm stunned, or particularly unhappy all things considered. I think you've made the right choice, and getting Vanessa on board (literally) is smart.
I'm sure I speak for everyone here when I say congratulations and good luck!
And to Matt: dude, but you can code. Take it easy, and have a great time kicking ass in whatever you do next now. I know you're gonna have a great future.
Sounds like a very difficult decision, shame to see Matt leave but I'm sure there's exciting times ahead for both him and SEOmoz!
Congrats guys (if you ask me it was kind of obvious though you were going to choose this back when you originally posted :) )! Also interesting to see you posting the news before it's finalized. I know most people wouldn't and I think that's part of what makes you guys you.
The biggest question; what does mystery guest think of it? hahaha
Congrats again!
Congradulations. I'm sure you'll put the money to good use.
Good stuff, Rand. As you heard, VC money can be great or not so great, but I think you'll be happy you did this. Especially since you have up a minority position and retained control.
I guess you mean he gave up.
Rand - I was one that did not think getting VC funding was a good idea, but as you hint on this post it was a good overall decision.
I've been following SEOmoz work for several years and I could foresee that you would not be able to keep providing so much value for so little in return. This is an excellent move to reverse that.
I can't wait to see the future holds for you guys!
Best wishes,
Hamlet
Sounds like you guys made the right decision. I recently went through this with my company back in February, and despite plenty of hesitation it has worked out better than I could have imagined. I can't wait to see where the future takes SEOmoz!Best of Luck to you Matt, and welcome to all you new comers!
Thanks for the transparency in your writing during the process. I think that's top reason I come back to SEOmoz on a daily basis.
This is great news! I'm excited to see where the infusion of capital takes SEOmoz in the near future. Good luck Matt!
Congratulations to you all -- you're finally getting paid!
Dammit. What with a dodgy server this morning, a ridiculous problem with getting some internet in our new office and (shock!) some client work I have only just read this story...
Firstly - Oatmeal - I understand the entrepreneurial urge. Good luck with your adventure. I'm sure we'll hear how it goes.
As for the VC news - only you guys can make the gut call you have made - it's impossible from outside. I for one trust your judgement and look forward to seeing the results. Congrats. Looking forward to the upcoming whiteboard Fridays as well.
Shor: awesome. Can't wait.
Congratulations! If it's any consolation, I continue to push your site than any other when it comes to SEO. You've really built a superb brand, I'm anxious to see what results in the upcoming year as well as hearing more about the challenges, frustrations, or happiness in accepting outside investment!
Doug
Congrats Rand and the rest of SEOmoz. If you hadn't taken it, the growth you wanted would have been nearly impossible. As long as you have final say in everything, especially possible acquisitions, then I think the vast majority of members can breathe a sign of relief.
The thought of new tools and more guides and other features is incredibly exciting. I signed up for just a month to try a Premium membership out, damn it Rand you're making it too hard to not be member for life!
Good luck to you all!
I can understand this was a hard post to write. Thanks for sharing this inside information.
I think SEOmoz has a great future ahead, mostly because of the great people which are, as you point out, the most valuable asset.
Good luck and all the best for the next couple of months and years.
Congrats to ALL the mozzers for finally getting your just desserts. I was a little bit surprised to hear the direction you went in, but I agree with Malcolm, your gut is rarely wrong!
Looking forward to seeing the new-and-improved 'moz in the coming months!
Congratulations and thanks for sharing the info. I look forward to seeing the moz transform and helping all of us in the industry out even more than it already does.
Congrats to everyone - So now are we gonna have a "Mozplex"? Private jet called "Moz 1"?
Just kidding. I think this is a great direction, and wish you all the best.
Ian
hmm, someone's already thinking of how to spend the next round of funding :)