Pulling a Noah
Pulling a Noah
There has been a lot of discussion and transition in the Performance / Affiliate Marketing space over the past year. Several companies have gone out of business due to financial problems, new technologies were launched, old technologies got new marketing speak and long-term employees turned all of a sudden became highly desired free agents.
Some unfortunately lost their jobs when companies like Cutting Edge Media folded and weāre forced to find a new home and others pulled a Noah.
Pulling a Noah is an old-school phrase that you are going to hear a lot this year.
Itās like boat shoes, what was cool way back when is cool again.
Having been in the Online space for 15 years now Iāve pulled a Noah a few times myself. When I started in Online in 1997 business cards didnāt even have email addresses, ads were called button thingies, anybody who did advertise on the web wanted to be on the Home Page and most thought the Internet was a fad.
Back then you knew the web was going to be successful and insanely huge but unfortunately only a few people felt that way and the people with āBankā money preferred safe choices like Newspaper advertising. I used to be able to stand on a newspaper and be 4 inches taller. Being 5 foot 8 never felt so great! Jet forward a few years and a ton of companies went out of business in a hurry because the bubble burst on start-ups with a dream – but poor financials – and they couldnāt go IPO anymore.
One example was the Stock site that I worked at. We had a huge staff of editorial, sales, marketing folk, International offices (one guy in Thailand, one guy in China, you get the picture), 2 floors on the most expensive street in Toronto, a pinball machine, pool table, you name it, we had it. What we didnāt have was tens of millions of dollars in funding to fuel the expenses and headcount after the stock market crashed and the Internet bubble burst.
After a big round of layoffs, the light at the end of the tunnel appeared to be a train. Right then, quite a few of us knew it was time to look for something more stable, something on higher ground, so we pulled a Noah and went to companies with bigger brands in the online space and better financials.
Changing business cards and not having a feeling that your paycheck wasnāt going to bounce felt great. The early days of the web were fascinating and terrifying at the same time. If you ever want to watch a great movie about it, I highly recommend Startup.com.
Those days remind me very much of our current times in Affiliate Marketing. Just like the lessons that Kaleil and Tom learned from their experience, you too can learn from the warning signs that you see around you. If the warning signs are strong and undeniable then be prepared to pull a Noah. When the rain comes, it’s best to be in that big boat before the door closes.
As much as I’m sure that people were shocked by the closing of Eagle Web Assets and the ripple effect that creates for publishers and employees, Iām sure about two things: Ryan Eagle will likely rise like a Phoenix with a new venture down the line and his old employees will have to pull a Noah to ensure that they can continue to make a living.