Valleywag
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Mike Sheridan
Project Playlist hires a second ex-Facebook exec
A tipster tells us that Project Playlist, the online-music startup which has just hired former Facebook COO Owen Van Natta and raised $15 million, has hired Mike Sheridan as its CFO. Sheridan served less than a year at Facebook, where he was replaced by Gideon Yu. -
owen van natta
Ex-Facebook COO takes Project Playlist CEO gig
Be careful what you wish for. Owen Van Natta, the former Facebook COO who left the social network in February, has gotten the CEO job he said he wanted — as the new chief of Project Playlist, an online-music startup. (It's been widely reported that MySpace wooed him to run its MySpace Music spinoff. He also had conversations with social-news site Digg and shopping search engine Nextag, among others.) Van Natta's an investor in Project Playlist, and the company has just announced funding from former AOL CEO Bob Pittman's Pilot Group. But powerful backers won't change the toxic business environment all online-music startups face. More » -
owen van natta
MySpace Music's fruitless CEO search
Why can't News Corp. find anyone to run MySpace Music, the spinoff from its social network which is part-owned by major labels? No one seems able to state the obvious: MySpace Music is a feature, not a company. The outside investment it garners is just an elaborate way of cutting in the labels on MySpace's music-related profits. No wonder former Facebook COO Owen Van Natta turned down the job; TechCrunch reports that he cleverly tried to get MySpace to buy Project Playlist, a music startup he'd invested in, as part of the deal. Van Natta picked the right test: If MySpace had been willing to fold Project Playlist into MySpace Music, it would have proven that the music venture really had some independence. Any other CEO candidate should ask the same questions Van Natta raised with his quid-pro-quo deal. -
rumormonger
Ex-Facebook COO Owen Van Natta to run MySpace Music?
Embarrassingly, MySpace unveiled its plans for MySpace Music without a CEO in place. The store's set to open later this month, but who will mind it? The Los Angeles Times suggests the shortlist is down to two names: Owen Van Natta, Facebook's former COO (left), and Andy Schuon, a longtime Universal Music executive (right). TechCrunch says Van Natta is a "top contender." Insiders say MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe is wooing him even more aggressively than Paris Hilton. More » -
mark zuckerberg
Who's in charge at Facebook?
A tipster reports spotting Mark Zuckerberg in San Francisco today, outside 21st Amendment in San Francisco. He was "having a conversation (all smiles) with two other guys," our tipster tells us. The restaurant and bar is near San Francisco's South-of-Market startup epicenter, so there's any number of reasons Zuckerberg might have been in town. But I can think of one reason why he'd be all smiles: He's not in Palo Alto, where Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg is busily wrecking his company. When Zuckerberg hired Sheryl Sandberg as Facebook's COO, he said she would not be in "overall charge" of the company, but would stick to running business operations. As she's repeatedly meddled in technology and product, Facebookers have asked Zuckerberg what's going on — and he's kept repeating his "overall charge" promise, even as Sandberg pulls an Al Haig — "I'm in control here" — down in Palo Alto. Zuckerberg's misdirection is entirely intentional — and very revealing of his management style. More » -
Party Report
At OutCast CEO Dinner, Robert Scoble greeted us warmly
FERRY BUILDING, SAN FRANCISCO — Let's be clear: Local PR firm OutCast's CEO Dinner event Thursday night wasn't really a dinner — most people ate standing up. Nor were there many CEOs. (I counted one: Jim Louderback of Revision3.) It's a far cry from years past where the decimated post-bubble survivors of San Francisco's tech press corps would gather in a room and listen to OutCast clients like Gordon Eubanks of Oblix, a salty former submarine officer, utter zingers about the wonders of Viagra. OutCast is a sizable firm now, and it's got big clients like Facebook and Yahoo. But Mark Zuckerberg? Jerry Yang? Nowhere to be seen. Instead, you had a hall full of hacks and flacks. I wonder how many of them shook videoblogger Robert Scoble's hand? Photo gallery after the jump:
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caption contest
So, seriously, neither of you spray tan? Hahahaha
CARLSBAD, CA — D6 conference organizer Kara Swisher and bicoastal überflack Brooke Hammerling prepare to torment former Facebook COO Van Natta, who doesn't seem to mind. Can you suggest a better caption? Do so in the comments, but behave yourselves and be clever, or I'll ban all you filthy louts. The best one will become the new headline. Yesterday's winner: Jimmy the Saint, for "Sometimes that new iPhone is just a cigar." -
nerdspotting
Could Owen Van Natta toast a reunion with another ex-Facebooker?
When I ran into former Facebook COO Owen Van Natta at last night's Fast Company party, he was in high spirits, claiming to enjoy life as an unemployed dad. But he's made no secret of his desire to get back into the startup game at some point — this time as CEO, not a dispensable No. 2. Which is why this photo, sent by a tipster, of Van Natta doing shots of Jägermeister with ex-Facebooker Darian Shirazi, got us thinking. Shirazi has a startup, Redux, which raised $3.5 million in funding last month. Redux is working on automated ways of finding friends online, but it's better known for its FlickIM instant-messaging client for the iPhone. It may not be the next Facebook, but one has to think Van Natta could do worse than running Redux, and Shirazi could do worse than landing Van Natta. -
wantrepreneurs
Startup will pay to hear from Facebook ex-COO, investor
Chris Leach, the CEO of Pwned.com, describes his company as "the worlds first social networking website dedicated to videogamers that launched in December," distinguishing it from the first social networking websites dedicated to videogramers which launched in November or January. With credentials established, Leach informed us that he loved our post about finding a CEO gig for departed Facebook executive Owen Van Natta and would we please tell Mr. Van Natta that his company needs a new CEO, too? Leach promises Van Natta "salary/stock," and that he "would demote myself to COO, and out COO would switch to CTO." Then in all caps, Leach explained how he'd like us to convince Van Natta to join up.CAN YOU PLEASE HELP US GET IN CONTACT WITH OWNE VAN NATT TO OFFER HIM TO TAKE THE HELM OF PWNED.COM, AND GET GREAT $ TO REPEAT WHAT HE DID WITH FACEBOOK
The full email — and his followup: More » -
jackpot
Hong Kong tycoon doubles Facebook stake as employees eye exits
Li Ka-shing, the Hong Kong telecom billionaire, has upped his stake in Facebook, investing another $60 million in the social network. His new total: $120 million, or half of Microsoft's stake. The valuation: Still $15 billion. All the cash flowing into Facebook has gotten some Facebookers thinking about selling. CEO Mark Zuckerberg remains too cash-poor to buy his own house, but a handful of employees are cashing out. More »
owen van natta
San Francisco, 5:17 PM
Mon Dec 1
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