This is part of an email that Artie Wu wrote to me on 2/10/08:
"But while our budgets are small and our site is not that fancy, our commitment and passion for serving Moms is very personal and real. I started noodling on the idea for Mamasource in 2004, when our daughter was 4 and my wife was having trouble scheduling playdates, and finding time to spend with other Moms due to her work schedule. I figured I would try and build something that could help her."
Great story line. Great hook. But the truth is, Artie wants to make money, lots of money, off of moms like you and me.
Oh ya, and his budget is NOT SMALL, or is he lying when he says in this recent Craiglist ad that "Mamasource is a well-funded, early-stage Internet startup"?
If you read other posts on this blog, you'll begin to understand that Artie Wu is a master of harvesting information from competitors and has elevated "intelligence mining" to an high art.
I encourage you to read this whole post so that you might see why he wants you to be part of Mamasource.
He is building his subscriber base so he can pimp you all, I mean, connect you all with the providers of the goods and services you'll need in a "highly effective and personalized manner."
I would be inclined to believe there might be a stronger community aspect to Mamasource had I not been privy to his sneaky and underhanded techniques personally, but I can tell you that Artie Wu knows his demographics, and his main goal is to exploit you and take you for all you've got!
After all, this is what he build his last company, Vividence, on. He knows that MOMS SPEND MONEY...LOTS OF IT, and he wants a big piece of that pie, and he is willing to use every trick in the book to get you to sign up, even resorting to hijacking your email address book and spamming all your contacts, without discretion.
It's already been shown that once he has you, he won't give you up. He does NOT provide an unsubscribe link in any emails his subscriber receive, in DIRECT VIOLATION OF THE CAN-SPAM ACT OF 2003, just so he can keep his subscribers subscribed!
He is building up his subscriber base with these unethical email harvesting and phishing techniques, and he has but one reason for doing this. He wants to get his Number One demographic (YOU!) gathered in one place he can "provide you with goods and services."
I URGE YOU TO FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF WHY THIS SITE EXISTS AND DECIDE IF YOU WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE GROWTH OF ARTIE WU'S PERSONAL BANK ACCOUNT!
Unlike his email to me, where he speaks about his "small budget" this Craigslist posting on 2/12/08 tells a different story.
Read this posting on Craigslist and decide for yourself what the Mamasource community is really all about.
SF Craigslist Posting for Mamasource Project Manager (2/12/08)
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/sof/571239120.html
Reply to: job-571239120@craigslist.org Date: 2008-02-12, 3:54AM PST
Product Management at Marin-based Startup (Sr., Director - level) (corte madera)
Mamasource is a well-funded, early-stage Internet startup taking a deep and unique approach to serving the needs of moms. Since launching in 2007, our online network of local Mom communities all across America has grown at an exciting pace while being featured extensively on TV, radio, and print.
Why are moms so important?
Moms control 80% of U.S. household spending totaling $1.4 trillion annually.
Their #1 source for getting reliable information is via word-of-mouth from other moms - more than TV or magazines, more than the Yellow Pages. - Everyone from the largest brands to the local plumber relies on moms as customers, and they spend $100 billion each year on local advertising.
We are creating vibrant, local online communities where millions of Mom decision-makers come to confer every day around vitally important issues like raising their families, personal well-being, and their household spending decisions. We then connect them with the providers of the goods and services they need in a highly effective and personalized manner.
From day one, you will work closely with veteran founders who have been backed in the past by Kleiner and Sequoia, and you'll be able to count your co-workers on two hands. You will find that building a community for moms that actually works is an amazingly challenging intellectual and technical problem - combining sophisticated algorithms, constant analysis of massive amounts of data, user experience design, and social engineering.
We continually innovate "under the hood" in ways that our members will never see.
Ultimately, what they experience is simply the most friendly, relevant, and responsive group of local moms they've ever encountered online.
We stay focused on our customers, not the latest market or tech hype, and we've got a sensible, well-grounded business model that is already generating revenue. We work hard and love what we do, but we get a big boost from knowing that our efforts make the lives of so many moms just a little bit easier every day.
WE ARE SEEKING our first dedicated Product Management team member outside of the founders, who will:
* Shape our deep understanding of the customer, including her needs and behaviors, through data-driven analysis and gathering direct user feedback.
* Define roadmaps, scope, goals, and priorities for product initiatives.
* Create dev-ready requirements and deliverables and work closely with UE design, engineering, and QA teammates throughout the dev process.
* Define, measure, and manage against global metrics for product adoption, retention, and revenue, up to and including owning P&L as appropriate.
* Execute successfully at the data-driven, micro-optimization level: conversion rates, CTR, etc.
* Help make the company a great place to work and make a difference in all areas of the company's success (it's a startup!)
QUALIFICATIONS: We expect that you will have at least three years professional experience in product management for web applications. We are not looking for any particular domain expertise, but you must possess a true passion for the web and have worked before on highly interactive web apps with a strong consumer focus. Everything we do is data-driven, so you must be a data hound: you're used to living in the data and translating it into informed product decisions. You wouldn't think of making a move without knowing by which metrics success will be measured. You know Excel like the back of your hand. You probably already know SQL, but if not then learning it should be no problem for you. You are equally comfortable optimizing CTR and drop-off rates as you are defining use cases and flows. You must have extensive experience with the ins-and-outs of web applications and the web applications development process. You must be able to communicate requirements at a sufficient level of comprehensiveness and technical detail where engineers and QA teammates can run with them with minimal intervention. Handling corner cases comes naturally to you. You are loved by the engineers you've worked with and are always finding ways to make their jobs just a little bit easier and more efficient. You must be comfortable directly interacting with customers when needed, as gathering user feedback is part of the job.
A degree in Computer Science or other technical field is strongly preferred, but not required. Previous startup experience would be great. Most importantly, we are looking for a talented, driven teammate who is eager to work hard, learn quickly, and wear multiple hats. We encourage all qualified product managers who fit the bill to apply. This position is what YOU make of it: title and level of responsibility will be commensurate with previous experience and growth on the job.
LOCATION: You will work in beautiful Marin County within view of Mt. Tamalpais. We are located minutes from both the Golden Gate and Richmond bridges right off Hwy 101, making us within easy 20-30 minutes reach of San Francisco (a reverse commute!), East Bay, and North Bay. We enjoy all the benefits of being a startup in the SF Bay Area while remaining a comfortable distance from the reality distortion field that tends to permeate SOMA and South Bay.
CONTACT INFORMATION: This is a full-time, permanent position based in Corte Madera, CA. With a small team, we can be generous with equity. We also offer full benefits including health, 401(k), and more. We strongly prefer candidates who already live in the SF Bay Area, but we are willing to consider the right person located anywhere in the US. If what you've read sounds intriguing, please send your resume and a description of why you fit the bill.
PostingID: 571239120
Please write Artie Wu at this Craigslist address (since he doesn't give an address or phone number on his website) job-571239120@craigslist.org
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