What is the message the "CDO", "CTO", and "CEO" are saying? Haven't been there for awhile, but I'm worried about friends who are still there.
27 replies (most recent on top)
It comes down to awful selections from talent acquisition. There are many people in "leadership" positions that are not qualified.
Yep the issue isn’t with the tech, google cloud is great. It’s just that the project got bungled by vamsi with completely unrealistic expectations that led to a classic IT project failure. I love how he and his apologists pretend like the problem is employees who don’t try hard enough, when in reality it’s a leadership issue.
That's probably a good point. The idea that the legacy systems were a "mess" is at the very least partially fabricated. Those systems were/are battle tested and business knows how to use them.
The issue wasn't technology, those systems could handle the load. What came out of project fresh was a list of business ideas too, yet those never materialized.
Lol... PQuad probably STILL has better conversions as much as it's been tested over the years.
Despite the heroic efforts of Troy, Vamsi and Jay the stock had dropped again to 45 cents. When will the world reward them (and big richard) for their positive attitude?? Luckily Mother’s Day is just around the corner, so I have no doubts that Conversion on the new site will be through the roof and save FTD! Just like that case study said!
Two words: Troy Aikman
“As long as you are employed” is going to be around July 1st. Let us all know how it works out for you.
Hey, now. I never said management is doing a great job. My comments were to address the people hating on leadership. Let's get this clear; no one on this site has any clue about the challenges or decision the C-suite has to make. Keep in mind Vamsi and Topper inherited the mess; they did not create it. That is not a defense of them, that is a fact. I do give them credit for it taking action and trying to find a solution and prepare the business for the future. Who was doing that previously? I will hold for an answer...
There is going to be more changes, that is clear, and as long as I am employed, I am going to do my damn best to support a goal to achieve success. If you negative Nancy's cannot relate to working to a common goal, then stop b!tching and leave.
In closing yes I am a positive individual, and I do not spend time complaining about what I cannot change.
Stock is now at 47 cents. Waiting for Big r----d to show up and tell us how good the management is, and that if things aren’t going well it’s the fault of the employees who aren’t thinking positively enough.
If you're trying to compare FTD to a tech IPO that's not a very good comparison.
It’s a growth over profit market. So it’s no surprise that some companies going public are doing so on the back of revenue expansion instead of positive net income. However, the percentage of companies that are going public today toting nothing but red ink in their satchel is setting new record levels.
According to a finance professor cited by the Wall Street Journal, 83 percent of U.S.-listed IPOs that took place during the first three quarters of this year “lost money in the 12 months leading up to their debut.” The Journal goes on to note that the previous record for the statistic was “when 81% of stock-market debutantes were unprofitable.”
If you were looking another possible market top signal, there you are.
The same professor’s data does contain some good news—14 percent of tech offerings in 2000 were profitable; it’s now 19 percent—but both metrics point to an IPO climate that is more than welcoming to companies of all sorts.
No Profits? No Problem
A number of recent IPOs have featured both unprofitable companies and strong debuts. Indeed, some companies that were profit-free managed to raise their ranges and still enjoy huge first day gains. For example, Eventbrite raised its IPO price range from $19 to $21 per share to a higher $21 to $23 per share price band. Eventbrite then priced at the top of its new range and enjoyed a strong first day, shooting 60 percent higher.
The company didn’t report profit in any quarter it detailed in its final pre-IPO SEC filing.
SurveyMonkey, another third quarter IPO, is a similar story. The company initially said it would go public at $9 to $11 per share. The company priced above that tier, selling its shares for $12 apiece. SurveyMonkey also raised the size of its offering, selling an additional 1.5 million shares through its public debut. Its shares shot 42 percent higher in its first day of trading.
SurveyMonkey reported just a single quarter of profit in its SEC filings. Totting up its net income for the six-quarter period, the firm lost over $50 million.
The IPO cycle continues this week (more here), as it did last week (here), and the week before (here). And who can blame the companies that are getting out while the getting is good?
The last time that public investors welcomed this many unprofitable companies things ended poorly. That may happen this time, or not. No one knows. But what is plain is that standards are down and losses are up.
The TECH is fine it’s the bad PROJECT EXECUTION that is the issue. Pretending that employees don’t like Google is Vamsi’s red herring. He asks people if they want to work in the “future” (google cloud) or “the past” (whatever company they are going to). For me the answer is I want to work for a stable company that is well capitalized with a strong and growing business model. And that sure as hell isnt FTD right now.
Wait...I have been with FTD before Vamsi and Jay joined.
I came in right after the mistake of an acquisition Provide. Please let me know how we were performing before that acquisition? We were already in a steady decline, and it was an acceleration by the purchase. Plus the brands were bleeding money.
Do you think not moving to the Cloud would be a better choice? And not investing in technology? If you do, you need to have your head checked. I am not here to defend either of them, but I am going to rebuke B.S. If you want to ask me it was a mistake not to sell PC, and we should not be adding them to the new platform. We should double down on the Floral brands, and ultimately change how we work with our members. The Florist Division and the Call Centers are a bigger issue in comparison to IT.
But again let shoot at the folks actually trying to drive change and let's go back to the good old day. LMFAO... As for those who left; good for them but if they are looking in the review mirror coming here to comment, then yes they are HATERS!. If their current job is so great, why aim FTD?
F--- the haters! Translation: f--- all those people who were able to go get better jobs at viable companies. I’m going to stay here and close my eyes and put my fingers in my ears and pretend everything will work out just fine. Someone will buy FTD and realize my genius and I’ll get a big raise and promotion! Then you’ll all be sorry you left, just wait!
Drinking the kool-aid? Far from it, but I am providing context to the BS that is on the site.
So what do you propose should be happening?
You're quick to dismiss, but did you even bother to read the case study?
People are posting comments as if they are fact when in reality they do not have the data to back up their claims.
Yeah, keep drinking that Topper Vamsi kool-aid buddy.
FTD Companies: Business is “blooming” on Google Cloud Platform
I will leave this here: https://cloud.google.com/customers/ftd/
F*ck the haters!
I agree with the statement that people left because they refused to support the new platform, but they did that from the jump, not because it was a disaster. They decided to dig their feet in and live in the '90s. Also for the original poster, if you are so worried about your friends, why not just speak to them instead of posting to thelayoff.com? Almost 80 percent of the posts since last year have been entirely wrong.
What a dumb question to ask, it’s an anonymous site how the hell would you “prove” anything? Rumor has it that the entire security team quit because the security was so bad on the new site. Reach out and ask one of them if you want “proof”
Well ladies and gentlemen, management has found the thread!
Ok that’s a little dramatic to blame employees leaving entirely on the website. Do you have any actual proof of that??
Barely functional is an understatement. People have left because they refuse to support the new cloud site because it’s a total disaster
It's amazing to think that a partially functioning website is all $10-15 million can get you. ..
the new site barely stays up on its own.
Last I heard the cloud project was still below PQuad in conversion rate.
The CDO is a phony who spent his entire career failing upwards and the CTO is an id--t who tells him what he wants to hear. All they can manage to talk about is their stupid cloud project that was supposed to save the company. But instead it’s a complete failure tens of millions over budget and nowhere near completion. All because of horrible decisions and management by both of them. And now we are on the brink of losing our jobs!
The same BS they've been saying for a year: they are exploring alternative options including sale of a company but they can't share anything because of insider trading laws.