Blogger to Odeo

Team 13, Entrepreneurship Case

Evan Williams: From Blogger to Odeo (A)

Introduction and Key Issues

Evan Williams is a small-town boy with big ideas; he grew up on a farm in Clarks, Nebraska. Williams was always a very creative person, and dropped out of college because he wanted to start his own company. His first venture with his father ended badly due to unclear roles and a lack of focus, causing him move on to some free-lance work and he eventually landed a job at O'Reilly Media.

He later met a technology consultant named Meg Hourihan and the two hit it off right away. They both "saw the potential of the web" and together founded Pyra Labs, an online collaboration tool. It was decided that Williams would be CEO and a 60-40 equity split in his favour was also agreed upon. Pyra's first employee was software developer Paul Bausch who received 5% equity and a steady salary. On August 23rd, behind Hourihan's back, Bausch and Williams launched 'Blogger'; an online platform where users are able to post their own personal news which can be viewed by all.

After many ups and downs, Google expressed an interest in Pyra Labs and in February 2003, acquired Blogger. However in August 2004 Google went public and "Williams sold enough stock that he could turn his attention to a new venture". He then met Noah Glass, another creator who had come up with 'AudioBlogger', which allowed users to post audio blogs online. This idea intrigued Williams and the two teamed up to create 'Odeo'; a new distribution channel for audio. This method allowed the download of user generated audio content, which would later be known as "podcasting". In 2006, amongst growing competition and pressure from Odeo's Board, Williams found himself at a cross-road, should he move on to another project or should he remain involved with Odeo?

The case 'From Blogger to Odeo', highlights many obstacles and issues Evan Williams faced as he fought to make his creations work....