Comments on: BlueFreeway Bleeding…Badly. http://blog.eightblack.com/2008/bluefreeway-bleedingbadly/ Thoughts on sales, marketing and the internet. Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:16:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: bluefreeway thailand http://blog.eightblack.com/2008/bluefreeway-bleedingbadly/#comment-72321 bluefreeway thailand Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:47:32 +0000 http://blog.eightblack.com/2008/bluefreeway-bleedingbadly/#comment-72321 bluefreeway was such a hot mess. as if the regional MD being a convicted sexual predator wasn't bad enough, bluefreeway has outstanding bills all over town, they owe money to a huge number of suppliers ranging from the namecard printers to the lawyers and accountants. bluefreeway was such a hot mess. as if the regional MD being a convicted sexual predator wasn’t bad enough, bluefreeway has outstanding bills all over town, they owe money to a huge number of suppliers ranging from the namecard printers to the lawyers and accountants.

]]> By: close to blu http://blog.eightblack.com/2008/bluefreeway-bleedingbadly/#comment-56538 close to blu Tue, 27 May 2008 08:04:52 +0000 http://blog.eightblack.com/2008/bluefreeway-bleedingbadly/#comment-56538 having worked directly on blu, it was all smoke and mirrors, there was nothing tangible built. was always going to end in tears and it did...enough said. having worked directly on blu, it was all smoke and mirrors, there was nothing tangible built. was always going to end in tears and it did…enough said.

]]> By: Former Employee http://blog.eightblack.com/2008/bluefreeway-bleedingbadly/#comment-46224 Former Employee Mon, 11 Feb 2008 06:18:29 +0000 http://blog.eightblack.com/2008/bluefreeway-bleedingbadly/#comment-46224 A former employee of Citect (the one he screwed before bluefreeway) I used to work with RIck Webb and Ken Macdonald at Citect (read his CV and you will think that he turned the company around) in fact as soon as he left and the truth was uncovered he had turned the company from making a few million dollars per year to losing 3-4 million. Very much the same story, if you were on of Rick in crowd then you travelled business class, got a better PC and cell phone. On one occasion in Europe the customers stayed in a cheap hotel and RIck and co stayed in a five star hotel. He always tried to spend his way out of everything, no expense control and a very exclusive management style. A former employee of Citect (the one he screwed before bluefreeway)
I used to work with RIck Webb and Ken Macdonald at Citect (read his CV and you will think that he turned the company around) in fact as soon as he left and the truth was uncovered he had turned the company from making a few million dollars per year to losing 3-4 million. Very much the same story, if you were on of Rick in crowd then you travelled business class, got a better PC and cell phone. On one occasion in Europe the customers stayed in a cheap hotel and RIck and co stayed in a five star hotel.

He always tried to spend his way out of everything, no expense control and a very exclusive management style.

]]> By: Alister Cameron // Blogologist http://blog.eightblack.com/2008/bluefreeway-bleedingbadly/#comment-46156 Alister Cameron // Blogologist Sun, 10 Feb 2008 14:44:52 +0000 http://blog.eightblack.com/2008/bluefreeway-bleedingbadly/#comment-46156 Hiya Simon. I remember in the early days building the Downtown Duty Free site for Hyro. We were all kinda cowboyish in those days (1998-9, for memory). But it's sad to see it happening all over again. Webb, it looks like from here, had too much success from his previous ventures, and just took on something way too ego-driven. You just can't do that: you can't glue together 25 or more completely different entities with "promises of glory", throw wheelbarrows of money at a portal thing that no-one understood and then wonder why it all wasn't making money. I agree... by December it will have vaporized and the "member companies" will have abandoned ship or mutinied. There is something to say for slow steady honest growth, isn't there?! -Alister Hiya Simon.

I remember in the early days building the Downtown Duty Free site for Hyro. We were all kinda cowboyish in those days (1998-9, for memory).

But it’s sad to see it happening all over again. Webb, it looks like from here, had too much success from his previous ventures, and just took on something way too ego-driven.

You just can’t do that: you can’t glue together 25 or more completely different entities with “promises of glory”, throw wheelbarrows of money at a portal thing that no-one understood and then wonder why it all wasn’t making money.

I agree… by December it will have vaporized and the “member companies” will have abandoned ship or mutinied.

There is something to say for slow steady honest growth, isn’t there?!

-Alister

]]> By: A former employee of Bluefreeway. http://blog.eightblack.com/2008/bluefreeway-bleedingbadly/#comment-44952 A former employee of Bluefreeway. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 02:35:53 +0000 http://blog.eightblack.com/2008/bluefreeway-bleedingbadly/#comment-44952 I used to work for one of the companies that got swallowed up by the bluefreeway group, and looking at it now, I'm glad I got out. I'm especially glad I didn't take my Directors advice at the time to ' buy as much as a could because this stock is just going to keep rising ' - Yes that was actually said to staff. Although at about $20 million cash buy out the director in question didn't do badly himself so what would he care right? I know Blu is trying to be this all powerful one-stop shop for online marketing but the only problem I have is that, as a marketer, I know that whenever I want to do anything with an external provider I need to get at least three competitive quotes. So I can't just use Blu as my default provider - which is what their consolidated digital platform is all about. Scary times ahead for the group I think. I used to work for one of the companies that got swallowed up by the bluefreeway group, and looking at it now, I’m glad I got out. I’m especially glad I didn’t take my Directors advice at the time to ‘ buy as much as a could because this stock is just going to keep rising ‘ - Yes that was actually said to staff.

Although at about $20 million cash buy out the director in question didn’t do badly himself so what would he care right?

I know Blu is trying to be this all powerful one-stop shop for online marketing but the only problem I have is that, as a marketer, I know that whenever I want to do anything with an external provider I need to get at least three competitive quotes. So I can’t just use Blu as my default provider - which is what their consolidated digital platform is all about.

Scary times ahead for the group I think.

]]> By: Anonymouse http://blog.eightblack.com/2008/bluefreeway-bleedingbadly/#comment-44881 Anonymouse Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:43:49 +0000 http://blog.eightblack.com/2008/bluefreeway-bleedingbadly/#comment-44881 Simon what do you think the lookout is for other conglomerate media companies like Q Ltd (ASX code QXQ) ? Simon what do you think the lookout is for other conglomerate media companies like Q Ltd (ASX code QXQ) ?

]]> By: Bluefreeway; the bridge is out « Wide Open Spaces http://blog.eightblack.com/2008/bluefreeway-bleedingbadly/#comment-44852 Bluefreeway; the bridge is out « Wide Open Spaces Wed, 30 Jan 2008 06:48:19 +0000 http://blog.eightblack.com/2008/bluefreeway-bleedingbadly/#comment-44852 [...] black, Ken McDonnell, Richard Webb, Simon Chen Simon Chen has a nice (if you can call it nice) wrap-up of the day’s events. Richard Webb, founder and CEO of Bluefreeway is out, as is the CFO Ken McDonnell. The share price [...] [...] black, Ken McDonnell, Richard Webb, Simon Chen Simon Chen has a nice (if you can call it nice) wrap-up of the day’s events. Richard Webb, founder and CEO of Bluefreeway is out, as is the CFO Ken McDonnell. The share price [...]

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