Jon

Word has it that 3 people were canned today (Thurs Feb 22nd) at one shot.. Some of the employees were offered a severance package and/or a dept change, others were let go. They were given a mandatory afternoon off too.

They are all in the Verticals department of Azoogle Ads this time. Rumor also has it that Azoogle is shutting down most of it's vertical market and only keeping their education and ringtone markets, but getting rid of everything else and just using 3rd party advertisers instead of keeping the operations in house and acting as a lead aggregator. All of their payday and mortgage offers for example went from vertical markets into the advertising dept to handle now.

Doubtful that this will have any real effects on affiliates or the industry at all, but it is interesting to hear and report on.

On a good note, Azoogle has also been on a hiring spree to beef up their affiliate support and management, which is always a good sign. I think they have something like 160 employees in their NYC, San Francisco and Toronto offices, which is A LOT compared to the numbers they had last year here.

Some people may take this as a negative report, but I see it as a good thing. People always get hired and fired, it's just the way business works. Sometimes it's unfair, but usually it's not. I've always been a fan of Azoogle myself, and I hope this change just leads to bigger and better things in the future, because they deserve it.

If this sparks into some sort of fight or argument, I will not be taking sides. What a company does is their business, WickedFire is here to drop the story and report what we know to be fact and real, not to point fingers.

PS - This story was edited after all facts came to light/verified and rumors/false information was ruled out.

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Aww shit, looks like I'm on the Cakez dick too now.. But only because this post he made on DP was brilliant!!

CLKeenan

I agree, it shows that they are taking a very active approach in improving their business from the inside out.

AdValiantJivan

Change is always a part of any organization, all companies go through it at one time or another. BUT, if there are any former or soon to be former Azoogle employees reading this, AdValiant is hiring business development and affiliate managers, we're based in Toronto, New York, Santa Barbara and Ft. Lauderdale. Come to our site and give us a call if you're interested. We're more than just an affiliate network and once you hear what we're up to I'm confidant you'll want to join us.

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Jon

I know you mean well, but that's kind of a dick thing to do.. posting around to take their ex-employees. If you're going to do that, at least go through the back channels or some type of industry head hunter. Geez, you networks are brutal!

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Aww shit, looks like I'm on the Cakez dick too now.. But only because this post he made on DP was brilliant!!

valentino

Nothing wrong with cherry-picking employees. It's just how things are done, both on and off-line. Love it!

AdValiantJivan

I understand your post Jon but why not cherry pick ex-employees? Besides, Azoogle and other networks have done a lot worse than this apparent "dick thing" I've just done when recruiting from competitors. At least I'm up front and honest in my intentions and openly asking for ex-employees or soon to be ex to come join us. As well, we are using agencies, including the one you recommended to me. But I don't see anything wrong in hitting the forums to let ex-employees of any organization know that we're growing and that we're looking for good talent with industry experience. Also, if they're ex-employees, how can I be taking them if they're no longer part of the company?

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Jon

Without starting up a shit storm here, I know you guys are ex-Azoogle employees and you did some shady things like stealing clients and advertisers from them, which is a huge no-no in any industry. With that said, it's still in poor judgement and taste for someone to be posting a "come to us instead!" post right after news hits that they have let go of a few people. I know I have almost no ethics and I'm definitely not one to judge another, but I would imagine that as an ad network you want to keep a good rep going with the other networks as well, and as soon as people start hearing about you guys doing this, they will start to not trust or dislike you for it. How would you feel if Azoogle went and tried taking your people after you let them go? It's just bad business.

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Aww shit, looks like I'm on the Cakez dick too now.. But only because this post he made on DP was brilliant!!

GameCode3

Jon, you are wrong.

These people now don't have jobs, I think it's perfectly acceptable for a company to come in and offer them work.

If Azoogle wanted them, they would have kept them, they don't so they are fair game.

Slaming a company for offering people a helping hand is silly.

yevlesh

I think what Jivan is doing is perfectly fine, in fact it's great.

He is not poaching employees from Azoogle. He is offering an opportunity people who are now unemployed, and who are apparently no longer needed by Azoogle. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

AdValiantJivan

Jon,

AdValiant was started by ex-Azoogle employees. We have also hired and do business with ex-Azoogle employees who have either started their own businesses or work for other companies in our industry. I'm sure they also had clients that continue to do business with them because of their integrity and the trust they have in those individuals. It was no different with us. We built our own .Net proprietary tracking solution, we worked hard to build a successful company in a very competitive industry and along the way attracted top technology executives who held senior positions at Adobe and Microsoft as well as top sales talent who left very lucrative positions to join us for an opportunity to grow and have options/ownership in a young but rapidly growing organization. Ask anyone in this industry that has and continues to do business with AdValiant if they think we are shady or dishonest. I am confidant that honesty and trustworthy are two words a lot of people will use when talking about AdValiant.

It appears one of the founders of Azoogle has your ear and is passing information to you that is incorrect. But hey it's a competitive space and they are simply using a relationship to help themselves. Nothing wrong with that. In fact Joe and Alex have built a very successful company and I wish them nothing but success with Azoogle. I have a lot of friends that still work for them and hate to hear about the layoffs since it is unsettling for those that are affected. Posting on a forum that a few of them visit stating AdValiant is looking to hire is not under handed in my eyes. In fact, if we were to let anyone go and if any of our competitors posted on forums stating they wanted to hire our released employees, that would be fine with us. One way or another those individuals would end up working in the same industry anyways. Most likely if done right, we'd end up doing business with them (which has happened with an ex-employee of ours btw). I'm sorry you feel it's bad business or that posting it was negative in any way but we're looking to potentially offer careers to individuals who are now without an income. In my opinion, that is a positive thing.

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geoffmarcy

Hi Jon,

I'm new to your forum but have heard great things about it. So before I begin, I'd like to thank you in advance for the opportunity to speak freely here.

I am curious about your comments in this thread with regards to AdValiant recruiting. I'm wondering if your reaction would have been the same if it was another CPA network (perhaps one more favorable in your mind) offering ex-Azoogle employees an opportunity to continue to advance their careers. Is there some kind of official forum violation at WickedFire to openly recruit in this manner or is it just something that went against your personal moral center?

I work at AdValiant and can vouch for the uncompromising integrity of the entire management team -- including the one active here.

In an industry that is constantly struggling to prove its integrity as whole, we’re positioned to set ourselves apart as a trustworthy, well respected network. We are only looking for people of the same caliber who can set the example and raise the bar!

I wish all the ex-Azoogle employees good luck in their future endeavors!

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ChickenHole

Hey - Everyone who currently works for with or around a CPA network.

I wholeheartedly invite you to quit your job wherever you are and come work for MillNic Media. Why? cause we are just plain better.

You are an adult of your own free will able to assess opportunities on your own.

BTW: I work with advaliant and would happily steal any or all of their employees too. They are good people.

To all prospective stolen employees, I offer One(1) free ride in my car and I will also introduce you to my sister.

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AdValiantJivan

Jason, way too funny!! And yes, our people at AdValiant are great!

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Max

Hahahaha

edls4475

Is your sister hot? I think these things are important to know...

ChickenHole

I have five sisters. some are hot some are not. you'll have to roll the dice my friend.

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geoffmarcy

Chickenhole,

Can you clarify if 1 of the 5 includes your brother that had a sex change? Or is more of a "choose your own adventure" thing?

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Geofferson Marcy
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