Oct 20, 2009

Executive of the Year

Big ups to Josh Linkner for being named the Detroit Executives Association's Executive of the Year.

In other news, the sinking ship of ePrize continues to bleed out talented employees into the Detroit market. The churn rate climbs with the Interface Developers taking a major loss recently of one of their longest-term developers.

48 comments:

Anonymous said...

"His company has pioneered a new industry.."

ROTFL. Nah...nobody was running promotions online before ePrize came around. Good grief.

Anonymous said...

"He has grown a successful company in a very tough economy."

Tough economy, check.
Grown....? Uh, yeah, where did they get THAT from?

Anonymous said...

They guy didn't give the award to himself, and I pray that he didn't lobby for it, so you can't hold this against him. On the other hand, the fact that a group of executives would consider him the best that the state has to offer says a lot, no matter how you look at it.

Anonymous said...

Oh but I think we CAN hold it against him when you consider that he repeatedly exaggerates company statistics to paint the picture prettier than what reality is. I'm talking about incorrect number of employees, not reporting that offices have been closed, under reporting numbers of layoffs (and the reason those people were let go). It's disgusting.

Anonymous said...

Anyone notice that eprize didn't make that 100 best companies to work for list this year? I always wondered how they got on that list to begin with

Anonymous said...

Did you say lobby? That's right, this is another one for the "walk of fame". Up there with the "Young Millionaires Award" etc.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if he'll bring his guitar for the photo op. Gag.

Anonymous said...

linker stinker...what a little nerd

Anonymous said...

I threw up in my mouth.

Anonymous said...

Doesn't everyone know that more than 80% of ePrize marriages end in divorce? Even that punk-ass who ran the "I love ePrize" blog got one. Maybe because he was spending all of his time at work?

Linkner's tale isn't an unfamiliar one - spending time at work and straying from his wife. I remember that she was a nice piece of ass - definitely better than what he's tapping at the office.

The Only White Man The Natives Trust said...

I agree with Anonymous... LOL

Yeah, this blog has definitely gone hill since the introduction of "ePrize Tattler" and all that mud-slinging. I think, at one time, that this blog was about making ePrize better. Where's that angle? I think Tattler would say, "Fire Josh" but there's got to be other stuff that can be done even with a cornball "leader."

Anonymous said...

A site with reviews of ePrize - www.glassdoor.com

Interesting to read other peoples' takes on the pros and cons of the company. Makes you realize that your priorities aren't universal. Fairly evenhanded, but definitely some unhappy campers in the bunch.

exPrizer said...

Yeah, can't say I'm surprised that there are some rotten reviews of ePrize at Glassdoor. Glad that people aren't afraid to say what they feel.

http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/ePrize-Reviews-E27939.htm

Anonymous said...

Don't bemoan the loss of Nick Gonzalez, Mike. He was yet another one of the people banging coworkers - just like Josh.

Zac Boller said...

It's one thing to take issue with how ePrize conducts itself, it's quite another to make personal attacks on Nick (or Josh for that matter) anonymously. "Coward" doesn't even begin to cover it. Either man up and sign your name to your words or keep your mouth shut. Just pathetic.

Anonymous said...

What is definitely true is that the London office was closed at least two years ago and there was no mention of this and, indeed, some of the eprize sites still mention London as an office.

Anonymous said...

Some of the sites also mention an "Atlanta" office which has never existed.


Oh, and the Dallas office? CLOSED.

It's long gone and yet again, still proudly displayed as part of the eprize empire.

Anonymous said...

There's a service office dedicated to Coke in Atlanta, right? I thought they moved a couple of girls down there.

Anonymous said...

What makes this blog stupid is the random complaints, rumors, and personal attacks. It just makes the blog and those that post look sliiy. What would add value would be constuctive criticism and suggestions for improvement instead of bitching and finger pointing like children.

Anonymous said...

Why would we seek to improve something we loathe?

IE6 Rocks! said...

Depends on how you look at things. Could say that the improvements here are: Josh should be more humble with all of his accomplishments (make the "Walk of Fame" more about ePrize as a company than Josh as a person), Josh should quit whoring around and smoking dope at work, ePrize should update its site to remove references to offices that have cloesd. Those sound like good suggestions to me!

Anonymous said...

Any sign of honesty and integrity at ePrize would be refreshing...
It is clear now that neither exists, and never will. Posting a constructive suggestion here is akin to pissing in the wind - there is no fundamental interest demonstrated by ePrize in improving the root issues there.

Anonymous said...

ePrize + me = <3

Mike White said...

I'm coming up on the fourth anniversary of being fired from ePrize and I gotta say that I've had nothing but better times since I've been out of there. I miss some of my coworkers but stay in touch with the ones that I liked. There's a wide wonderful world outside the purple, green, and red walls.

Anonymous said...

I havent been back here in a while, interesting conversations. One thing disturbing is the anonymity from both the nay-sayers AND the supporters. I agree with Mr. Boller, if you have something to say (pro or con) have the nuts to put your name on it.

Pot smokin? Not a big deal unless he does it at work or with subordinates.


Hittin some hottie in the office? If true Karma is a bitch and so are divorce lawyers, but I would say refrain from posting shit ya dont know about.

Ego? Yeah. How many CEO's have you met that DIDNT have egos? ESPECIALLY CEOs in marketing organizations. Taking Josh to task for his ego is like complaining of a zebra's stripes; They are that because it's in their nature and the environment they operate in rewards big egos.

Anonymous said...

Looks like many of the good people that haven't been fired or "laid off" are leaving on their own. People that have been there for years. Sad, but not surprising. The kool-aid is strong, but the constant threat of being fired trumps the kool-aid. The Quicken take-over was a fast turn downhill. Seems to be only newbies, cliques and quiet job searchers are left. I think you'd see much more turnover if there were more jobs available.

Dayton said...

What's this about the Quicken takeover? Did Dan buy up ePrize?

Anonymous said...

wow, people... key people to key projects are leaving like they were offered spots on the last chopper out of Saigon...

Anonymous said...

that's what happens when the ceo gets fired

Anonymous said...

can anybody post the list of who left so far?

Anonymous said...

ceo fired?

No more josh at eprizzle dizzle? SAY IT AIN'T SO!!

Anonymous said...

Josh isn't fired. He's here today. He just was up in front of the whole company last week. Where do you people get your gossip from, the supermarket tabloids?

Anonymous said...

Ha! As if eprize news is important enough to hit the tabloids.

Anonymous said...

This is enough of a tabloid...

Ivan is gone, his goodbye email summed up his existence perfectly, pseudo-intelligent, forced and fake. Hopefully his departure opens the door for someone who can do some real good for ePrize... if that person exists.

Anonymous said...

can someone post ivans goodby email?

Unknown said...

Ivan's still all over the website - does that mean the rumors of him leaving have been exaggerated?

Anonymous said...

@Anonymous: 1/29/2010 3:03 PM

Josh may still be around right now, but he was fired.

He was relieved of his position around 6 months ago by the board as they were sick of not making any money. When Josh told you and the company that he was "focusing all his time on helping the sales guys sell," it wasn't because he was looking out for the best interest of the company...he was removed by the board and placed into that role to save-face.

Josh is still there today because the targeted replacement turned down the job after evaluating the current leadership team, and the current model.

There is a second replacement that is being targeted and is close to coming on board.

Stand by, as he will be on soon and Josh will be given some executive bullshitter role for a few months before he is out for good.

Anonymous said...

good news on josh thanks for sharing someone please paste in ivans goodby email but dont do it on a work computer

Anonymous said...

hahaha if josh was fired 6 months ago that means he was voted executive of the year after he was fired! his spin machine is so good.

Anonymous said...

Looks like Ivan is off the site... in some places but not others:

http://www.eprize.com/images/btn_white-paper.jpg

Duke Pappas said...

This is a doosy, and it's going to be hard to believe, but follow me here as I have a unique vantage point into this situation (which is why I love reading what BS people post here). ePrize is in serious talks to bring on Rick Wagoner. He's been looking for a change and thinks that ePrize is a veritable GOLD MINE that will restore his image and the metro area. As ePrize is obviously on the verge of being the next Google. He plays in an exclusive executive level basketball league with a few of the ePrize higher ups and was even encouraged to take the position by noted former ePrize baller Phil Jacokes. The reason Josh is still around is because the board wants to test out Rick's abilities to lead the team (and to save Ricks ass if he doesn't work out) so Josh is only working as a proxy, which he's happy to do because the pressure is 100% off him and he's still a major stock holder. Since Rick's such a big name Josh is going to gladly step aside to be a #2 or #3 after "he" (really Rick) gets the company back on the right track. This is 100% and 100% already in place.

IE6 Forever said...

No offense but that sounds f'n crazy.

Anonymous said...

@Duke Pappas

Thank you for making this post the blogosphere equivalent of the Sunday Funny's.

"As ePrize is obviously on the verge of being the next Google"

Obviously. Not sure how I missed that, but it's so obvious. Dumbass.

@Anonymous 2/01/2010 2:04 PM - Yes. Josh accepted the CEO of the year award about a month after he was told he will be relieved of his job. Real stand up guy.

Guys - the company is in shambles. The new CEO that is coming in has been given one direction. 180 the company so that the board can sell it and cut their losses. The last deal for the company fell through and it was with an evaluation of under $50 mil. That is not a lot considering that 3 years ago it was upwards of $100 mil and Danny "Drive businesses into the ground" Gilbert believed the company was a $1B company. Now he just wants to cut his losses.

Anyone want to take a stab how many times in the past year Josh had to call the board asking for immediate money so they could make payroll?

Anonymous said...

"Goldmine"? eprize has never in 10years turned profit. Go back to business school.

The issue is that they pay people good money to do nothing and people shitty money to do all the work.

If eprize hopes to survive the move is simple....cut the whole executive team plus the 20-30"leaders".

I'm willing to bet there is over $1.5 mil paid in annual salary to people who have no direct impact on revenue or product. Smart!

Anonymous said...

[citation needed]

Anonymous said...

You people don't know what you are talking about. ePrize made a profit many of the last 10 years. The company is not growing like it was in the past, but it is pretty stable. Happy clients, etc. Also - Josh was not fired - I see him in the office all the time. Get your facts straight.

Anonymous said...

Facts are straight, dumbass. Josh will be gone in March. Replacement is already confirmed and has informed his current company.

And as for the company making money, yes they made a lot of money in the earlier years. That being said, they haven't made a dime in almost 2 years. As a matter of fact, after laying off almost 100 people in the last 2 years, they are FINALLY back to cash-flow even.

Anonymous said...

this is where eprize will stick it to you

http://www.hadez.se/lajf/the_new_goatse.jpg