Update (April 2, 2007): For those of you still sending in emails pleading with me not to stop writing about startups - this was an April Fools joke. I do not in fact believe that there “just isn’t anything left to invent.” Thank you.
Tomorrow we will announce that we have acquired Philip “Pud” Kaplan’s FuckedCompany.com in a stock for assets transaction. The basic details of the transaction are included in a press release that will go out around 9 pm PST tonight, and Pud has also mentioned this on his personal blog. We weren’t going to announce this for another week or so (even though I hinted at it on CrunchNotes), but too many people know about it already and news of it was starting to leak (see Wired and CNET as well). I don’t want to be in a position again where other sites are breaking our news, so we’re announcing officially this weekend.
We’ve been working on this deal for months, it is good that we are finally able to close and announce it.
FuckedCompany first went live in 2000, chronicling failing and troubled companies in its unique and abrasive style after the dot com bust. Within a year it had a massive audience and was getting serious mainstream press attention. As the startup economy became better in 2004, much of the attention the site received went away. But a large and loyal audience remains at the site, coming back day after day for its unique slant on the news. At its peak, FC had 4 million unique monthly visitors.
Since FC focuses on the negative news coming out of startups, and TechCrunch tends to focus on the positive, this combination may seem odd. But the sites are in fact extremely complementary. For example, the audiences are about equal in size and have very little overlap. So from day one we will double our reach and traffic.
Reasons For The Merger
The market moves in cycles, and its clear that we are at the tail end of the current boom (disregard recent statements I’ve made to the contrary). Thousands of startups launched in the last year and a half, and well over a billion dollars was invested in them. Even in good times, 90% of startups fail. But recent events make me believe that even a 10% success rate might be optimistic going forward. Some recent trends that alarmed us:
- Smart people are saying the end of the current boom is near, and these guys are rarely wrong in their predictions. See, for example, Peter Rip’s recent post “Web 2.0 - Over and Out.” Peter really nailed the analysis in that post - and it’s hard to argue with any of his conclusions.
- The TechCrunch DeadPool, where we track failed startups, is growing exponentially. If the failure rate of startups continues to grow this fast, we will be at a point where failures will begin to outnumber new funded startups. Since 9/10 startups fail, by focusing on the negative we will have much more content for the site.
- While plenty of startups are launching, we aren’t seeing any actual innovation any more. There just isn’t the “wow” factor around new startups like in 2004/2005. That does not bode well for the future - there just isn’t anything left to invent.
- We’ve noticed a significantly higher number of negative comments on TechCrunch relative to past periods. Our readers are unhappy; they want a change in editorial tone.
Also, the current trend in blogging, led by Valleywag and others, is to “go negative first, and ask questions later.” That tabloid-style journalism tends to generate a lot of eyeballs and, subsequently, advertiser dollars. This is something we just can’t compete with. By acquiring FC, we can go more negative faster than anyone else out there, when and if we need to.
With the combination of these two companies, we can now effectively cover a startup from the idea stage, through the hype and funding stage, and then cover its inevitable bankruptcy and liquidation as well.
What To Expect
Integration will occur slowly. The FuckedCompany site has a notice on it about the announcement and will soon be upgraded to more of a TechCrunch look and feel (white background instead of the previous black and red, and a new logo that matches our font and style. For now, though, we are keeping the sites separate and each will continue to operate normally. Deeper integration will occur over time.
Many of our readers still enjoy reading about new startups, and we won’t stop covering them. But we will likely move new startup coverage, which will be a secondary consideration going forward, to a new blog over time. TechCrunch and FuckedCompany will begin to mirror each other’s content, and at the appropriate time the brands and sites will be merged.
Please Give Us Your Feedback
It’s important that we continue to tweak our business model to ensure that we stay relevant and publish compelling content going forward. That’s the main reason this transaction occurred - we are seeing the end of an era and are acting on what we are seeing.
I know our reasoning won’t satisfy every one of our readers, and I understand that this is a lot of change coming very quickly. I want your feedback to ensure that the merger is done tastefully and properly. Leave your comments below, or send me a private email (my email address is on the About page). I definitely want to hear your opinions.
When TechCrunch first launched in June 2005, there were no blogs dedicated to covering new startups. Today, nearly two years later, there are dozens of excellent blogs doing this, and mainstream media is paying attention as well. Entrepreneurs with new ideas will always have a way to reach potential users and customers. They just won’t be able to do it here any more.
Update (3/31/07 2:52 PM PST): We’re gotten many requests for the text of the press release. It isn’t officially going over the wires until tomorrow, but i’ve posted it below. It’s still in draft form.
TECHCRUNCH TO ACQUIRE FUCKEDCOMPANY Will Roughly Double Monthly Audience and Create New Opportunities For Expansion
ATHERTON, Calif., April 1, 2007 - TechCrunch announced today that it has agreed to acquire the assets of FuckedCompany, a website that features breaking stories on dot com company failures. Assets to be transferred in the transaction include the domain name fuckedcompany.com, all content on the site and other assets related to its business.
Following the completion of the transaction, the unique monthly visitors to the combined sites will be roughly double what TechCrunch.com achieves currently.
“We’re thrilled to be part of the TechCrunch team,” said Philip Kaplan, the founder and original editor of FuckedCompany. “We see this as the natural transition for our company as TechCrunch follows what is happening in the world of technology and start ups and Fucked Company tracks what happens when they fail. The combined company will be able to grow and stay relevant no matter what the current economic forecast.”
“I’m excited to be working with FuckedCompany, a website that helped define the extravagance of Web 1.0, and which serves as a constant reminder to entrepreneurs and venture capitalists that the market moves in cycles,” said Michael Arrington, founder of TechCrunch. “As the Web 2.0 movement cycles down, we can now focus on covering those startups that clearly aren’t going to make it to a liquidity event.”
The transaction is expected to close shortly. More details are available on www.techcrunch.com and www.fuckedcompany.com.
About TechCrunch
Founded in 2005, TechCrunch is a leading network of weblogs and other sites focused on providing news, analysis and services around new technology startups. The TechCrunch network delivers more than 4 million monthly page views to 1.5 million unique month visitors. The TechCrunch network includes Techcrunch.com, a weblog focused on new web startups, CrunchGear.com, a weblog focused on new technology gadgets, MobileCrunch, a weblog focused on mobile technology, Japanese and French versions of TechCrunch.com, and Crunchboard, a job listing site.
About FuckedCompany
Founded in April, 2000, Fuckedcompany was the premiere news website covering the first dot-com bust. At its peak, Fuckedcompany was visited by 4 million unique users monthly and was named “Site of the Year” in 2000 by both Yahoo and Rolling Stone, and was #6 is TIME Magazine’s “Best of 2000.
See all
Post
Congrats!
Here it is a yer later and still nothing? Looks like TechCrunch has become the new focus of Fucked Company - ya think?
You’ve really improved the site - way to go guys!
So you guys predicted a recession as a joke, and it happened the next year
“We weren’t going to announce this for another week or so, but too many people know about it already and news of it was starting to leak”
This seems to happen with all your announcements….
Congrats, great way to capture the upside and downside.
I don’t think I would have announced changing the wallpaper over at F. Co. so soon. Why not wait until the acquisition dust clears? Then call the painters…
Yay! A new logo and color scheme for FuckedCompany!
“… we will likely move new startup coverage, which will be a secondary consideration going forward, to a new blog over time. TechCrunch and FuckedCompany will begin to mirror each other’s content, and at the appropriate time the brands and sites will be merged.”
Why would you merge the two sites? Seems a little fishy
Interesting purchase. If we are at the end of the cycle, then we will probably see a lot of consolidation over the next few months.
I won the contest: http://www.crunchnotes.com/?p=378
Where’s my prize?
The undertone of this sounds like “bubble 2.0 is finally bursting and we want to catch all the companies on the way down too.”
Sounds like a lot of change quickly. I agree with Stan - maybe let the dust settle a little before a complete overhaul on FC - the troops might get restless otherwise.
So the CEO has already started working on mergers and acquisitions :). A nice move really, it will ensure that TC Network stays relevant in good days and bad.
You say startup coverage will likely move to another blog. What will TC’s primary focus be then?
I’ve a feeling a lot of TC traffic comes to read about and mock(or cheer) new startups you feature…doing the same to Google and Yahoo announcements isn’t the same fun.
-Zaid
“Entrepreneurs with new ideas will always have a way to reach potential users and customers. They just won’t be able to do it here any more.”
hmm…
Damn, I hate it when news like this leaks one day too early…
fucked.techcrunch.com?
I love it.
Smart thing to do. Hype 2.0 was dying anyway. Second Life dude! That’s the new black!
Wait, what date is it tomorrow…?
#12 - vc?
Was there supposed to be an embargo on this until tomorrow?
April fools?
I think that readers come to TechCrunch to hear about new startups. While you say that many other blogs are now covering the same startups, even more cover news about what the big boys are doing.
Changing TechCrunch’s focus would be a mistake in my mind. Why mess with a good thing? Don’t overthink this.
Congrats on the acquisition.
I called April fools first
#18, thank you.
Especially when you read Mike’s presentation in Feb 07:
“We’re just getting started.There is no bubble. And the best Internet apps are still to come.”
http://www.scribd.com/doc/5719/mike-arrington
Good stuff Mike:)
This is definitely an April Fools joke. Pud would never stoop this low.
I think that this will be great from a readers perspective, and obviously for TC from a business perspective. But what about the reasons for the acquisition? This makes the future look a little gloomy for developers, no? I suppose it is just an opinion, but I’m curious to know what others thought about that aspect of this.
Can you Digg It?”
#18 and #20 beat me to the April’s joke. But as soon as I saw the headline, I knew this was an April Fool’s joke. I’m really surprised that alot of people believed this. Are Techcrunch readers this gullible?
I saw the speculation on this in the editorial section of CNN, so it’s not as if it is a big secret. EVERYONE saw this one coming.
Dude Mike you shouldn’t be joking this way.
For all you know the market might crash come Monday and Google will be out for your head:)
-Zaid
What the %&#$?
Michael,
WTF. With all due respect, this is a totally bone-headed move. Not buying FC.com, that is a great move (depending on the terms). But merging the two, that is idiotic. Here’s why:
Your words: “But the sites are in fact extremely complimentary. For example, the audiences are about equal in size and have very little overlap. So from day one we will double our reach and traffic.”
Right. They serve two different audiences. So, keep them separate! Keep their brands separate! Think of yourself as Calacanis 2.0 - you own multiple online media properties.
If you “merge” the two businesses, in look, feel, and coverage, you’ll just be making compromises for both audiences and will end up losing readership from both sites in droves.
“Entrepreneurs with new ideas will always have a way to reach potential users and customers. They just won’t be able to do it here any more.”
Well, guess I can take TC off my RSS feedreader. This is your bread and butter Michael, why on earth would you do something as stupid as that. I can’t help but think you’re intentionally being provocative to stoke controversy.
Well, FC would be a nice addon to the DeadPool.
But now that I actually read the post… reading that TC will stop covering startups, hmmm…
uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
lol
weird
“Entrepreneurs with new ideas will always have a way to reach potential users and customers. They just won’t be able to do it here any more. ”
Does this means TC will no longer cover startups ?? If thats the case i am saddened
Unless you’re just fucking with us. lol
april fools
OHMYGOD. The best part is that everyone seems to believe this.
I must say this is extremely elaborate. How did you get Valleywag to help you with this?
If you go to fuckedcompany.com you will clearly see the merging process going on. So the green and red are literally merging and all will be green sooon. If this means the end of TC i will miss it. Mike you once said that scripting news is not just Dave Winers property…
Can we say the same thing about TC ??
Yeah, that looks like an April’s fool joke…
Hint #1:
“By acquiring FC, we can go more negative faster than anyone else out there, when and if we need to.”
Sounds too honest to be true…
Hint #2:
“Entrepreneurs with new ideas will always have a way to reach potential users and customers. They just won’t be able to do it here any more.”
Contrary to anything Mike have said until now. He’s supposed to love entrepreneurs.
Now, it’s not like it’s not making sense to cover the every aspect of startup life, and maybe TC did acquire FC, but I can’t imagine the two merging.
thats fucked
i’m with zaid. can’t wait to see the market correction over this one. hahahaha.
Now call this funny — let’s look at something here…
Earlier this week we get a post about BritePic (redefining the img tag) - it is amazingly positive when 99% of the comments were negative - now let’s see - who owns britepic - oh lookie here - its Philip Kaplan - the former owner of FC. Actually the post was overwhelming positive.
So - part of the contract was to wait to pimp the heck out of his new thing. I guess.
Certainly interesting.. I can’t believe no one picked up on this so far. I guess it was perfect timing for Philip that he launched this new app just before the purchase.
Lame Joke if it is one.. Really took it to heart.. Congrats on the acquisition tough…and since when have TC started to go with press releases. Last time i checked you guys recommended startups to get in touch directly.
Oh, Michael… aren’t we a smidge early? Is this a beta version of an April Fool’s joke? Will there be daily releases to improve the quality of the joke. How far can I carry this bad metaphor?
Happy AF Eve
Cheers,
Randy Stewart
randy@boxbe.com
Hilarious. Nice work, Mike.
Is this a day early?
This is one of the better ones I’ve ever seen. Let 4/1/07 begin!
“By acquiring FC, we can go more negative faster than anyone else out there”
hahahahaha omg. good one.
i really hope this isn’t real.
eas - launch quick; launch early. Mike’s beat all the competition!
it actually IS April Fools in most of the world right now…:-)
Here is some food for thought on the 4/1 idea, “With the combination of these two companies, we can now effectively cover a startup from the idea stage, through the hype and funding stage, and then ultimately cover its inevitable bankruptcy and liquidation as well.”
Mike cannot really believe that a startup will “inevitably” go to BK and Liquidation.
Good one!
Ok here is my detective work and why they call me Columbo
1. Mike says “With the combination of these two companies, we can now effectively cover a startup from the idea stage, through the hype and funding stage, and then ultimately cover its inevitable bankruptcy and liquidation as well.”
2. Mike then says “When TechCrunch first launched in June 2005, there were no blogs dedicated to covering new startups. Today, nearly two years later, there are dozens of excellent blogs doing this, and mainstream media is paying attention as well. Entrepreneurs with new ideas will always have a way to reach potential users and customers. They just won’t be able to do it here any more.”
So he won’t cover startups on TC but he will cover them on TC to watch them fail on FC?
The plaintiff rests.
I want to think this is an April 1 story. But I also want to fall into the story, believe it and be fooled myself. I’m torn!
I had noticed TechCrunch kept tossing Web 2.0 companies into the Deadpool. Those were the words that FCompany has been using as well. In fact, I didn’t like it. I thought TechCrunch should report the news and the startups and not exult in the failures of some. We have to anticipate and expect failure, not champion it.
If this is a true merger, it is an odd one. FCompany’s boards are full of the most vile comments you will ever see. You won’t want that here.
FuckedCompany is even still around? FC was/is so 5 years ago. I wasn’t even aware it was still actively updated. I don’t see how this helps TechCrunch, it’s sorta like acquiring the rights to a fad that has already run its course. Who cares.