Startup.com Page #8

know the degree of urgency.

I don't think that I felt

comfortable...

telling you as

an executive in the hall,

- And I just think you should know.

- Because of the revenue numbers?

Yep.

I think we're

personally at risk.

I've had some pretty ugly

conversations...

with board members

over the last couple days.

What are you saying?

That the board would consider...

Getting rid of us

'cause of this? - Yeah.

They were just...

They're probably...

I mean...

That's cool.

You're concerned

about the problem.

You're concerned

about the revenue.

I don't want to give you

the wrong idea.

I'm deeply concerned

about the revenue,

But I'm not concerned

about the board.

Okay.

Um...

I'm not personally

at risk anyway.

Oh. Okay.

I mean, I could be at risk

for losing the job.

Potentially.

Theoretically.

Again, that would surprise me,

but that's possible.

Um, but that wouldn't be the end

of the world for me at this point.

I think this is

a serious crisis, tom.

For 27 days...

What are the requirements

that we're trying to fulfill...

you know, at a very

bare-Minimum level?

- You know...

- At a very bare-Minimum level,

Our business requirements

are very simple,

And they haven't changed.

We need to be able to collect

credit cards, electronic checks,

Debit cards,

We need to be able to collect

data on these things...

And we need to be able to

pass it to municipalities. - Right.

Listen, I... I hear you,

I want to involve you guys,

And I understand that you guys

think you know better than me.

- But...

- We don't know better,

But we know that what

we have today doesn't work.

You don't know that!

What we have today does work.

That's the problem...

Then why are we fixing it?

We're fixing it

because there are problems.

It's not gonna do everything

we want it to do for the future.

It's a great first step.

All right?

We built... - We're not gonna get

anywhere in this conversation.

And it's not like we have

a bunch of geniuses learning code.

That's not... - I just

don't want you guys to tell us,

"Stop what doing you're doing,

Wait ten days for

us to figure out what we want..."

So you can build something

totally from scratch...

based on what you want.

If you want to work together...

Is this a conversation

you want to end by walking out?

This, I guess, tension, uh,

Confusion about the areas that

you're gonna take on,

The areas you're

not gonna take on.

I do want you to know

a little bit about...

how my relationship

with Kaleil works,

Because, you know,

we're not really co-C.E.O. S,

But in some ways we really are,

Because at the end of the day,

we have an agreement that...

That decisions

regarding the company...

are made by

the two of us together.

As a result, I find myself

functionally responsible...

for a lot of things that go

way beyond technology.

That's fine, but, you know,

Respect that there's

a structure for a reason.

Roy just sounded

like he was about to,

You know, have

a nervous breakdown.

I'm just parking out front

right as we speak.

I'll see you there.

Bye.

Right now,

there's no other way to put it:

We are getting

blown out of the water.

Our site is not as good

as our competitors' site...

Sites.

It's not.

And that should scare the

living daylights out of all of us.

I'm a little frustrated

as well, tom,

That it has to be

laid out as a priority.

It should be the M.D.F.'S

priority all the time...

to beat the competition.

We need to be given

clear directions...

so that we can focus our energy...

on whatever it is that is

the most important thing.

It can't just be, you know,

"make the site fantastic".

That's just simply not

specific enough.

When I talk to somebody out

there, and I tell them...

I want to raise

200 million bucks...

at a humongous valuation,

That they should,

hopefully, you know...

The first thing they gotta do

is to go into our site.

After they go to the site,

they go,

"Hmm. Who are they

competing with? Ezgov.

Link to GOV."

And that happens

to me every day. Every day today.

We're too far behind.

We're getting hurt.

We're getting hurt in ways

that you guys don't see. - No, I see.

Because Jose and I are on the

front lines of that kind of pain.

We know how it could be

a fatal blow.

What do we do?

What I'm hearing

from you is that,

Uh, is that you think

I'm not the right person...

to lead this company

strategically on technology.

I know that on the ground,

I'm not the person

to manage technology day to day.

I'm not the engineer,

and I'm not the project manager.

That's why I'm so excited

about Vassoo.

He knows how to operate

the technology part.

He's gonna do a great job.

I don't want this conversation

to be about Vassoo.

I need this to be about...

About, uh... About you and me.

Okay.

You don't respect my authority.

It's safe to say it's difficult

for me not because, you know,

I get high off of

you respecting my authority,

But because I have a job...

that I'm trying to perform.

It's very difficult

to perform that job...

when that's the case.

You know, I spent the last 20

years of my life on technology.

Now after I get to the point...

where I'm able to

build an organization to do that,

I'm just gonna...

If we're co-C.E.O. S,

then we're co-C.E.O.S.

But don't tell me

anything different.

If that's the way it works,

then I need to know...

that that's the way

you think it works.

And you know what?

I'll leave.

It's the same

discussion we had before.

You know, it's not gonna work.

I- I-I...

So I need to know

what it is you want to do.

Then I'll make the decision

about whether I stay. - Okay.

I'm... I'm gonna go

on vacation for two weeks.

I'll communicate with you...

and I'll communicate

with Jerome and Barbara.

That's about it.

And, uh...

it's very difficult to do.

You know that I have...

I love you.

These are difficult things

to say, because, uh...

You just need to

make sure that, uh...

Neil Weisenfeldt...

His rent received on the 20th...

and that Alyssa

is taken care of.

Alex, this is tom Herman.

How are you?

Good. I haven't

spoken to you for a while.

I'm at a point where

the company is considering...

bringing in some, ah,

some more senior talent.

There's a very good chance

that I'll be leaving,

And I need to negotiate

a settlement with our board...

basically.

As they try to consolidate

leadership with one C.E.O.,

I become more and more of a

problem, and I understand that.

I am.

That's my nature.

They've asked me to take

a three-Month paid time-Off...

with continued vesting.

I feel I should settle now

instead of settle in three months.

Tom's a friend of mine,

you know?

We've been working

20-Hour days...

for a year and change

on this stuff,

So it's tough.

But it's important to separate

the business from the personal.

- Yep.

- It's the right thing to do...

from the company's perspective.

He was basically the one

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes