Right after Scoble was hired, I was invited to a coming-out party organized by Podtech (in Mountain View). That was the first time that I heard Scoble speak in person and I remember telling myself that this had to be the beginning of the end for Podtech. This is not meant to be a negative on Scoble or John (who had a vision that involves Scoble). But I was thinking that if Podtech were to be a media company (which it wasn't until hiring Scoble and other "superstar") then not only does it need to be authentic (which Scoble certainly was and still is) but it had to be relevant as well (to its growing population of free subscribers and more importantly to its paid customers). I was not convinced that Scoble was "sustainably" relevant to increase listener base beyond a small niche (which is a big problem for a VC-backed startup since they expect huge payback). Soon after that I decided to unsubscribe Podtech altogether because a listener, I was confused. Podtech as a media company did not have a unique genre and the contents were all over the place (too much talents, may be, to put it mercifully).
Has there ever been a successful exit (repaid the investors) by a company that was founded with the direct participation of a 'social media superstar'? I can't think of any. I can think of several 'superstars' that got their launch from successful companies, but none the other way around.
The commentary about PodTech reveals that everyone involved with the company is even more clueless than they realize. The lists completely miss the point. The reason PodTech failed is simply because they made something nobody wanted.
