Einer der absoluten Exciting Commerce Pioniere tritt ab: Woot!-Gründer und Geschäftsführer Matt Rutledge verabschiedet sich standesgemäß im Woot! Deal-Forum:

"Woot, it has been an honor and a pleasure to serve as your semi-fearless leader for the past 18 years… Now get the hell out of my house and have fun at college."

Techcrunch schreibt über den Abgang:

"I spoke with Rutledge for a few minutes this morning about the changing landscape and what his plans were for the future.

He said that while Groupon, LivingSocial, and others appeared on the scene and copied the general marketing idea — offer a set of deals once a day — what they were doing was different than Woot’s core strength, which was sourcing items (primarily electronics) for its daily sales. While the explosion of daily deals sites certainly helped Woot to find a buyer in Amazon, Rutledge says looking back he might have liked to stay independent and compete in that fast-growing market.

As for why he left, Rutledge said that he was too much of a founder to fit into a large organization, and that earlier stages of growth are far more interesting than managing a subsidiary in a behemoth like Amazon. All in all, though, he said it’s a little bittersweet to leave the company that he founded."

Woot! war im Juli 2010 von Amazon übernommen worden, hat gerade erst seinen letzten großen Relaunch hinter sich ("Woot! geht runderneuert und seriös(er) in die Zukunft) und kürzlich Sport.Woot! als neuesten Ableger gestartet.

Die Woot! Story hatten wir schon beim Exit Revue passieren lassen. Bereits 2005 hatten wir Woot! im Live-Lab einen Monat lang intensiv begleitet. Weitere Insights aus erster Hand gabs bei den Live Shopping Days 2010.

Wir wünschen Matt Rutledge alles Gute für die Zukunft!

Frühere Beiträge zum Thema:

• Woot! geht runderneuert und seriös(er) in die Zukunft
• Woot! Insights von den Live Shopping Days 2010
• Woot! 2004 – 2010: Die ersten 6 Jahre im Rückblick
• Woot! wird von Amazon übernommen (Das Video)

Kategorien:Live Shopping, unlimited, Woot