Sounds like it’s a big day for the little GIF engine that could. Business Insider reports that Tumblr has a board meeting this afternoon. On the agenda: sorting through COO candidates, plus a chat about revenue and maybe even hitting up the VC ATM for more investment.
Business Insider reports there are two final candidates in the running for the position of COO, and board member Roelof Botha is meeting with one of them this morning so the team can discuss. For what it’s worth, Mr. Botha: seems like almost anyone who considers profitability an important metric would be a valuable addition.
As for who the possible COO could be: As we reported earlier this month, speculation suggests former News Corp. chief digital officer and AOL CEO Jonathan Miller, but the deal he cut upon leaving his last job might put the kibosh on that. Nor was a source who spoke to Betabeat at the time particularly upbeat about the prospects of getting someone to whip the company into shape, calling the search a “sham” and saying, “he’s looking to sideline that whole thing.”
A Sheryl Sandberg-type wouldn’t be Mr. Karp’s first grown-up counterpart, either. Former president John Maloney was once considered the resident adult, but he bailed a year ago, as Tumblr began its advertising push.
As for what the board meeting’ll be like, a source told Business Insider that “meetings between Karp and his directors have grown tense lately, as the West Coast investors who valued Tumblr at close to a billion dollars have flown in, and demanded answers.” And Mr. Botha was already spinning: “The team usually walks out of those meetings feeling a little beat up. But your best teachers were probably your hardest teachers.”
But Mr. Karp sounds pretty chipper about talking revenue with the board. He told Business Insider:
“The revenue stuff has been most exciting part of Tumblr right now. That’s the section of the board updates that get everyone glowing right now.”
Apparently eight of Hollywood’s top 10 studios are buying Tumblr campaigns. (Guess that L.A. office is getting some use besides offering an excuse to catch some rays!). Oh, and within 24 hours that Gatsby ad/GIF received 140,000 notes, for whatever that’s worth.
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