Gawker: valleywag, jim benton

AdBrite fires top sales guy, considers cutting lunches

Nicholas Carlson — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:20:00 EDT

FuckedCompany creator Philip "Pud" Kaplan's ad network, AdBrite, just fired its VP of Sales Jim Benton. In mid-August, a tipster told us it would happen. Now the same source tells us "free lunches are next on the chop." Engineering VP Mike Reaves and HR chief Melissa Vernon left the company earlier this year. Why's AdBrite in so much trouble? Because there are too many ad networks — about 300 — and not enough business to go around.

Internet advertising rose 20 percent in the second quarter, but a disproportionate amount of those gains went to Google search, which is like a more profitable version of the Yellow Pages — companies have to pay each time customers look them up. Ad networks like AdBrite primarily sell display advertising, which might not seem nearly so crucial during tough economic time — and the text ads they do sell don't have Google's massive data-crunching algorithms behind them. (Photo by Brian Solis/Bub.blicio.us)

Execs flee AdBrite

Owen Thomas — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:20:00 EDT

AdBrite, the online-ad network best known for its quirky founder, FuckedCompany creator Philip "Pud" Kaplan, is hiring an in-house lawyer. This is odd only in that last we heard, the online ad network already had one. Current general counsel Rebecca Eisenberg is just one of several vice presidents leaving the company, according to a tipster. Engineering VP Mike Reaves left in February, a month after HR chief Melissa Vernon. We'd also heard that cofounder Gidon Wise is out the door.

Our source speculates that Paul Levine and Jim Benton may be next to go. The tipster suggests that AdBrite CEO Iggy Fanlo is replacing Benton with a yet-to-be-hired SVP of sales.

This strikes us more than the usual amount of startup churn; when there's money to be made, Valley executives make a habit of sticking around for the payday. There's talk of an AdBrite IPO, but the enthusiasm for online ad networks on Madison Avenue and Wall Street is cooling fast.

(Photo by Brian Solis/Bub.blicio.us)