When Barney Pell, Powerset's former CEO, got demoted to CTO last week, we reported rumors that C-level hanky panky might have played a role. Now another tipster writes in to clarify that the "other CEO" mentioned must have been Pell's cofounder, COO Steve Newcomb. The new tipster can't confirm the first rumor that an affair soured relations between the two founders, but seems happy to offer plenty of other theories on why Powerset was doomed from the start.

Here's the unfiltered dirt:

It was inevitable that these two ridiculously arrogant, titanic egos would self-destruct. The org chart at Powerset was a dead giveaway: Pell and Newcomb set themselves up as lords of this feudal society with C-level titles and then built a company without VPs in the name of a flat, post-modern organizational style. The truth is they didn't want the peons anywhere near the decision-making or basking in the glamorous, self-aggrandizing PR campaign they launched way too early.

(Photo by AP/Ben Margot)

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