<![CDATA[Gawker: valleywag, frank addante]]> http://tags.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gawker.com.png <![CDATA[Gawker: valleywag, frank addante]]> http://gawker.com/tag/valleywag/frankaddante http://gawker.com/tag/valleywag/frankaddante <![CDATA[Inside the Startup Office from Hell]]> The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Frank Addante, the Los Angeles tech entrepreneur, has helpfully consolidated pretty much every terrible office idea and Web 2.0 startup cliché into one place: This video tour of his online ad company, Rubicon Project.

We actually stopped the video halfway through to make sure it wasn't a conscious parody, maybe a viral ad for some new Office-like television show. Nope: Addante is very real, and he and his videos have already earned more than his share of notoriety.


Here's quick tour of Addante's tour:


Above the reception desk are the first of many pointless flat-screen monitors.


The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.The office is built on the set of 24, which is a great idea if you value panic, screaming and torture in your place of work.


The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.These 11 cultural values shall "govern the behavior" of all who enter. Consider yourself warned.


The main penoffice. Rubicon has a "No Office Policy," because it is so egalitarian and communicative. This explains why Addante introduces the cofounder he sits next to, but not the random woman he also sits next to.


Addante is trying to ring the "Victory Bell" more frequently, probably because its clang is so delightful for employees trying to get work done at the surrounding desks.


This "countdown clock" is like the one in 24, except instead of nuclear apocalypse it counts down to something you don't care about.


Yes, you really work for a company whose slogan is "Make Mad Cash From Ads On Your Website." If you ever doubt this fact, just look up at the wall.


Yammer is like Twitter, except you read it by standing in the middle of the office and craning your neck to read another pointless, wall-mounted flat screen television.


Remember the room in 24 where they always torture terrorists? Addante thought it would be cool to hold company meetings there, and call them "boiler room" gatherings to boot.


It seems the employees gulped down the on-site alcohol much more quickly than anticipated. Go figure.


In 2009, being told your company "is managed like a financial institution" is not so comforting. Thank God there's another pointless, flat-screen television to soothe your pain.

[FounderBlog]

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<![CDATA[Frank Addante reveals a bit too much about the Rubicon Project]]> Frank Addante, CEO of the Rubicon Project, a Los Angeles-based online-advertising startup, mocks himself so you don't have to. Another pointless ad network? Clueless execs? Gullible venture capitalists? His latest video, made to introduce himself and his company to attendees at The Lobby, a Hawaiian tech-dealmaker junket organized by venture capitalist David Hornik, embraces all the possible criticisms one might make of Addante. Except for this one: He has enough spare time on his hands to make videos and go on a thinly disguised Big Island vacation. That's the real joke, in case you weren't getting it.

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<![CDATA[Frank Addante needs an assistant]]> Only Tinseltown can match Silicon Valley in turning self-delusion into marketable products. We've always admired Frank Addante, the CEO and founder of an L.A.-based online-advertising startup, the Rubicon Project, for embodying the worst of both worlds — and thereby maximizing his commercial potential. Want to catch a ride in his SUV? Addante, in a recent message on LinkedIn, informed his contacts that he's "looking for ambitious mavericks, entrepreneurial winners and A++ people." Who are willing to work as his executive assistant. The job listing, if you believe that you can achieve your goals as an entrepreneur by booking travel and running errands (must have reliable transporation):

If you have a moment, I'd appreciate your help. Please take a look and forward this job on to anyone you think would be interested in the position, or anyone else who could help me find a great candidate.

Thanks for your help!
-Frank

Company: the Rubicon Project

Job Title: Executive Assistant

Job Description: The Rubicon Project is looking for ambitious mavericks, entrepreneurial winners and A++ people. We are an online advertising technology company. In 2007, we pioneered the ad network optimization category with the goal of helping website publishers make more money from their unsold ad space.

In nine short months of offering our service we're now optimizing more than 11 billion ads each month for 1300+ customers (including some of the world's largest publishers) across 240 of the top ad networks, reaching more than 240+ million unique Internet users. We've been featured as an expert in our field by publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and Fortune. And we've already been recognized with a number of awards, including: start-up winners of PricewaterhouseCoopers EntreTech, AlwaysOn OnMedia's Top 100 and Global 250, and as Favorite Show-off at LA's TwiistUp 3.

Our goal is to build a truly unique company. From the people we hire, our company culture, products we build, to how we reward our employees, we aim to make the Rubicon Project a place people are excited to come to everyday.

Because we work hard and always strive for perfection as a team, we also play hard as a team. Our environment is passionate, fast-paced, team oriented, creative and interactive. We go above and beyond to create a strong culture. In addition to standard benefits like health, dental, vision insurance, and 401K plans we also throw in perks like generous stock option packages, free gym memberships, catered lunch and dinner, a stocked kitchen with healthy snacks, dry cleaning, car washes, and even company happy hours, to name a few.

In addition to giving back to employees, we also feel it's crucial to give back to the community. Every quarter we have "community service day" and a portion of our profits are ear-marked to be donated to charities selected by the company.

We are in search of a sharp, self-motivated, detail oriented, organized and creative individual to assist our CEO. This is not your average executive assistant job. In addition to standard scheduling and coordinating, you will also be called on to work on special projects to propel the company forward. Every day will be a different day and you will be pushed to your maximum potential, guaranteed.

Responsibilities and Requirements:

  • Great attitude!
  • Extremely responsible, trustworthy, caring and fun!
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Strong organizational skills are a must
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint
  • Ability to take initiative and work quickly and independently
  • Ability to manage multiple tasks
  • Flexibility and willingness to adapt to changing priorities and accomplish projects in efficient and timely manner
  • Must have reliable transportation to run errands
  • Precise calendar coordination (Outlook)
  • Presentation preparation
  • Generating accurate expense reports
  • Travel coordination
  • Meeting arrangements and coordination - planning, set up, presentation preparation and minute taking, distribution and follow up
  • Conference call arrangements
  • Wide range of administrative duties as needed

We are looking for an extraordinary executive assistant who thinks on their feet and can work with minimal supervision, this is a one of a kind opportunity.

To get to know the guy you'd be working with a little better check out this video that our CEO, Frank Addante did: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ola3ribSKKM

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<![CDATA[L.A. startup guy — the 1-minute version]]>
Here are the funny bits from that SoCal startupper's video, courtesy of my new obsession with video editing. I pasted "Frank Addante — Rubicon Project" into the first scene's lower third, because I couldn't remember his name or the company's after watching three times.

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<![CDATA[L.A. startup guy proves he's an L.A. startup guy]]>

Frank Addante, founder of the Rubicon Project, an online-advertising startup, disproves all the myths about tech companies based in Los Angeles. Except this one: Their founders are neurotically defensive about not being based in Silicon Valley.

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