I joined Utterz! No, seriously. I mean I REALLY joined.

Since Jangl ended, I have this same IM exchange about four times a week..

Someone:   So, I heard you were doing something new... heard you were at Utterz?
Me:            Yeah   
Someone:   When did you start there?

I'm sharing the full story because I'm tired of starting off every new work-social convo with an awkward story about myself.  The sound of my own voice grinds on me.  Now I can just waive my hand and say, "yeah, I blogged about that". 

Here is the simple story: In May I met the good folks at RPM Communications, creators of Foonz and Utterz.  I've been working with the company since June 1.  The relationship started when, as Venture Beat so kindly pointed out, I was interviewing elsewhere while Jangl was completing an exit.  This brings me to two points I want to underscore for the rumor-inclined:
1. I was authorized to interview by Michael Cerda (Jangl CEO) because I was never a part of the White Pages deal.  That deal was about buying a product line and vertically-integrating into White Pages, and
2. I was on vacation, as I said in my previous posts

So, why RPM/Utterz? 

I'd learned a lot about audio, video and social apps at PodShow and Jangl, and I wanted to continue to learn and apply that experience  -- preferably something situated at the intersection of communications and indie media. When I looked around, I'd talked with device companies, TV systems companies, even some public companies.  Selfishly, I had some ideas for scaling consumer services that are still un-proven, and, as the conversations got more serious with four companies, I found myself wanting to prove those things out.  Specifically, I have some ideas about recommendations engines and groups in web-and-mobile services that span social networks.  These ideas sprung from conversations with Raymie Stata back in 2004.  At Jangl, we just didn't have the funding or the opportunity to test the ideas -- it was frustrating for me, for others as well. 

So, as Jangl was ending, a recruiter called me first -- Lonergan Partners.  Nice folks, focused on a specific search. Michael Bayer, RPM Communications CEO and co founder called me next.  It was a very interesting first convo.  Michael Cerda called me second -- he wanted to tell me that he'd talked to Michael Bayer and told him that I was the guy for RPM.  I trust Cerda with career advice.  We've been through a lot together. 

At first blush, there was a lot about Utterz and Foonz that felt familiar. Provisioning voice, text through the social web -- that was very familiar.  However, very quickly, Utterz had figured out how to cross-post, do group text, group calling... Things that we just couldn't get done quickly at Jangl until Q1 08 when Azeem Butt filled the void in engineering leadership. This might smell like a rebound job, but it's not.  I'm literally picking up on a career path that has been focused.  The team and investors are different, not better or worse -- just different. 

But, if I had to name one really key ingredient at Utterz, it's that the engineering team at Utterz is young, fast and efficient.  The other RPM co founder, Paul Gagne, is a Steve Perlman-like -- drawers full of nearly-baked products that he does "last night", or "over the weekend".  And, that's what a series A company should be doing -- trying, learning, adjusting QUICKLY.  And, just as important, that's where the investors need to be during a series A investment period.  When I interviewed, the key investors (Morgenthaler) were anxious to see me try things, fail, learn, rinse and repeat.  As if to underscore my previous post on raising during Series C, the time to do this is during Series A, not Series C. 

More on my first six weeks in the next post.

Comments

[Eric Schwartzman]

Congrats on your new gig. BTW, I have been handling Perlman's PR for the last couple years. Let me know if I can help. Thanks!