

How Josh James built Omniture into a powerhouse & sold it to Adobe for $1.8b - adamhowell
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20100301/how-i-did-it-omnitures-josh-james.html

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mrduncan
_So we bought a 10-minute spot for $15,000 at a trade show. We had this sales
guy say, "Everyone stand up, because we are going to play rock, paper,
scissors. And the winner gets a Hummer. But instead of saying 'rock, paper,
scissors,' we're going to say 'Om-ni-ture.' " So you got 1,500 people chanting
"Om-ni-ture." Ever since that day, there really haven't been any RFPs that we
didn't get an invite to._

Simply brilliant.

~~~
wallflower
Looks like Josh James and Omniture does not forget its roots.

"World’s Largest Rock, Paper, Scissors Contest Promotes Entrepreneurship"

"In an effort to promote entrepreneurship and raise money for charity, the BYU
Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization hosted its 2nd annual Omniture
Throwdown - the world’s largest rock, paper, scissors tournament...

So when the club's director of membership services, Derek Pando, came up with
the idea for a giant Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament, as crazy as it sounded,
they decided to go for it...

As an additional way of promoting entrepreneurship, the competition was
sponsored by Omniture, a leading provider of online business optimization
software, which was co-founded by a former BYU CEO president, Josh James."

<http://marriottschool.byu.edu/news/release.cfm?article=383>

<http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,660209736,00.html>

~~~
adammichaelc
He comes out to speak to us students on campus at BYU all the time. He brings
a big-crowd because he's very authentic. Even though he's worth like $300
Million, he's very down to earth and real, which I think draws people to him.
Here's one of his talks: [http://byuebusiness.blogspot.com/2009/12/josh-james-
december...](http://byuebusiness.blogspot.com/2009/12/josh-james-
december-8-2009.html)

~~~
Sukotto
Thanks for posting that video. That was 50 minutes of my time well spent.

~~~
wallflower
I just watched the video. Excellent! Thanks for the thumbs up review. Here's a
few nuggets (it's worth the entire 50 minutes and rewatching):

For three years, Omniture was the fastest growing software company in the
world. And the 22nd to ever reach a billion total in sales.

"I think one of the problems that you see with..I've invested in a bunch of
companies - it's really quite... appalling's not really the right word -
that's being overly judgmental - it's interesting to me the number of people
who don't understand and focus in on... Revenue Revenue Revenue. Like who
cares if the desk isn't put together. Who cares if you don't have time to call
that person back. Who cares if that persons mad about that and they want talk
about it and they want to sit down and talk about when they get health care.
Who cares if that guy wants to go to a Chamber of Commerce of Meeting. All
that really matters is that you sell some stuff.

In 2002 we had a bunch of people we fired and they were saying really untrue
stuff about us in the valley. It's a small valley. We were just a $4M business
- who cares about a $4M business - investors don't. We were saying 'you know
we would never do it - you guys know us but you know it was he says, she says.
But you know what, the day of reckoning must come. You just build the
business. The credibility comes with the quality of business. Then they
realize that the stuff you were saying was true.

A lot of people when they start a business are worrying about way too many
things other than sales. And that's really all that matters in the business is
a sale. And if you can't get a sale, then you go back and fix the product. And
as soon as it's minimally good enough to sell, then you sell it."

Another one: He would have a single meeting in SF and he would go and buy 15
books on marketing, branding, guerilla marketing - and find 5 after 10 min.
sucked, 5 had a good chapter and 5 he read cover to cover. That is how he
learned to build his confidence when going into big meetings "That idea is
stupid.. well, Coca Cola didn't think so (snap!)"

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Sukotto
Love this quote:

    
    
      There were times when I lay down on the floor
      at night, close to crying, and said, "I'm done.
      I can't make payroll." Then my wife would come 
      over and kick me and say, "Get up and figure it out."

~~~
rgrieselhuber
That woman is gold.

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adamhowell
_"Adobe wasn't the obvious match, but it was the one that was willing to spend
the most money, and that's really all that matters._

 _In the last 13 years, I never had to go to a meeting internally that I
didn't want to. Now there are meetings I have to go to. It's part of working
for somebody else."_

Those last few paragraphs sound a little, I don't know, apologetic? Resentful?

~~~
tommy255
Trust me, once you get bought out, the transition to "someone else runs the
show now" is _super_ painful. Even if you are just an employee. _Especially_
if you were the founder.

Getting a buyout like Omnitures is the goal, but it really does feel like
selling your soul when it happens. What once made sense and was fun, suddenly
is run by clowns and is drudgery.

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AndrewWarner
If this was on Mixergy, the title would have been: "How a college dropout
built Omniture into a powerhouse & sold it to Adobe for $1.8b"

Doesn't that read better?

All kidding aside, I've got to interview this guy.

~~~
adammichaelc
I can put you in touch with his assistant. Email me.

------
rgrieselhuber
"My customers don't want to give all of their data to Google. So you say
"Google Analytics," and I say "cost of free." "

This is a really important point to understand.

------
petercooper
A great interview but not only that.. a great _format_ too. The way Inc
presented this is awesome for those of us with focus issues :-) I'd love to
see more articles distilled into such a form.

~~~
nfnaaron
You know, that _is_ a great format. I had to think for a few minutes what's
going on. They just print his answers, and leave the questions out. It works
amazingly well.

