My Thoughts

It's Always Day 1

It's interesting to read about the Amazon deal to acquire Zappos today.  We've been following Zappos quite a bit lately, mainly because of the awesome culture they've built.  I definitely admire their commitment to building an awesome place to work.  Most leaders talk about doing this but few actually walk the walk (very few).  From everything I understand, Zappos walks the walk.

I love the Amazon/Zappos deal for many reasons... several of which sound very familiar to the deal we did with Rackspace nearly two years ago.  For example:

1. All three founders are staying on board

2. Zappos will continue to build upon their unique culture

3. Zappos will now have the resources to grow much faster

4. The deal is all stock so people will have the financial incentive to stay and build the company

5. There won't be any layoffs (yes, I really believe this)

Any of this sound familiar?  I will admit, their price tag is quite a bit bigger than ours, but I digress...

Here is a great quote from the Zappos blog.  This sounds very similar to the things I wrote two years ago (replace Amazon with Rackspace and Zappos with Webmail):

Our culture at Zappos is unique and always evolving and changing, because one of our core values is to Embrace and Drive Change. What happens to our culture is up to us, which has always been true. Just like before, we are in control of our destiny and how our culture evolves.

A big part of the reason why Amazon is interested in us is because they recognize the value of our culture, our people, and our brand. Their desire is for us to continue to grow and develop our culture (and perhaps even a little bit of our culture may rub off on them).

They are not looking to have their folks come in and run Zappos unless we ask them to. That being said, they have a lot of experience and expertise in a lot of areas, so we're very excited about the opportunities to tap into their knowledge, expertise, and resources, especially on the technology side. This is about making the Zappos brand, culture, and business even stronger than it is today.

Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, is one of my favorite entrepreneurs.  I admire him for many reasons and I learn something new from him every time I listen to him talk.  In the video below, he says one of the things he's learned from building Amazon is that "it's always day 1".  What I think he means by this is that no matter how much Amazon accomplishes, their biggest successes are still ahead.  This is the exact message I've been delivering to my division at Rackspace for the last six months. When you experience rapid growth, go through a merger, and then an IPO, its easy to feel like the game is over.  But I'm with Jeff.  This is the beginning, not the end.  Or should I say, it's always day 1.



Congratulations to the Zappos team and community.  I have no doubt that it's still day 1 for you guys!

Hadoop and How We Manage Tons of Data

Here is a Building43 interview with Stu, a developer at Rackspace that leads our webmail search team.

Our History of Company Names

Huey wrote a good (and funny) historical overview of all the names we've had over the years.  I guess you could say the whole naming thing has been quite a challenge for us.  But one thing is for sure--I have learned a ton along the way and I surely appreciate how important a good name is to a business. 

Our Rebrand to Rackspace

It's official.  Mailtrust is out.  Rackspace is in.  Another part of our history is behind us.

So what's next?  How do I feel about all of this?  Is it time for me to move on? 

These are the questions I've been getting more and more of lately.  I guess that's typical for an entrepreneur that sells his or her business to the man.

The truth is, I'm more excited and engaged than ever.  I believe in our mission, our purpose, and our people.  Sure there are some things I have to deal with these days that I didn't have to deal with back in the day.  But I'm learning what to ignore, what to sidestep, and what to bulldoze right through.  The pros certainly outweigh the cons.

I was actually one of the main people and certainly the biggest activator (activator is my #1 strength) behind this project.  I really believe in the brand unification.  Rackspace is a strong brand.  We need to leverage that and contribute to it where we can.  I'm excited about both of those opportunities.

Some might wonder if we've lost our identity.  I think we've gained a much more powerful one.

Headed to SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas

I'm on my way to SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas.  Lots of Rackers are out there already.  In case you didn't hear, we announced some big news yesterday--that Robert Scoble and his business partner Rocky are now Rackers. 

For those of you not familiar with him, here is some info.

Here is the TechCrunch article that just hit.

And here is a blog post from Lew on why we're doing this.

Follow me on Twitter @pamatthe for more updates.

Blue Ridge Business Journal: Young Entrepreneurs

The BRBJ had a nice article the other day on young entrepreneurs in our region.  I was happy to see that I'm still considered both young, and an entrepreneur.  :)

Here is the excerpt on us:

Pat Matthews and two other Virginia Tech students started the business email hosting company Mailtrust.com in 2000 before graduating. The 31-year-old and his colleagues used their credit cards to start the company and “ran up probably about $75,000 in debt each. And we also raised a little bit of money from some friends and family.” From 2002 to 2004 they grew the business out of a basement in Northern Virginia and had about five employees. Rackspace bought the company in 2007. Today they have about 220 employees and the company occupies most of the University Mall in Blacksburg. It also operates an office in San Antonio, Texas, (where Rackspace is located) and a small office in Roanoke.

Cloud Confusion

Cloud computing is a phrase that confuses a lot of people.  Graham Weston, the chairman of Rackspace and one of the most influential people in the world of cloud computing, has a great article on his blog addressing this confusion.  Graham simplifies the term, defining cloud computing as "computing delivered over the web".  I couldn't have said it better myself.  He writes:

Cloud computing is simply computing delivered over the Web. That’s it. Simple and easy to understand. But it’s a very powerful idea whose time has come. Its like a tsunami that’s been gathering momentum for 24 months and has come ashore right now.  This wave is carrying the force of an atom bomb and it will dramatically change the landscape of computing on every continent.

Here is the full article.  I suggest subscribing to Graham's blog.  He's new to the blogosphere but I'm expecting big things!

Email @ the White House Down All Day

Yikes.

Rackspace is a Fortune Top 50 Place to Work... Again!

We just found out today that we're being recognized as one of the best places to work in America by Fortune Magazine, again, for the second year in a row.  This is an awesome honor, although not a surprising one.  Rackspace is truly an incredible place to work.  And we're still hiring.  Check out our careers section and what our employees have to say about working here. 

One other cool thing to note: we were the second fastest growing company on this list. 

Why Spammers Spam

We now filter more than 50 million spam emails a day.  Hard to believe, I know.  Spam feels like it should be a thing of the past.  Who falls for this stuff anymore?  That is a question people constantly ask me.  Well, here is an incredible example. 

A Leamington man has fallen prey to international scam artists who strung him along for more than a year with the promise of millions in cash, but ultimately bilked him and his family of $150,000.

John Rempel said he quit his truck driving job, lost friends, borrowed money and crossed the globe in pursuit of a non-existent inheritance, after he was contacted by e-mail in what is known as a Nigerian 419 scam.

The bottom line is that spammers will continue to spam if they can make money from it.  A sad but true fact of life.

Working at Google

Here is a great article on why Google employees quit.  A lot of us tend to think that Google can do no wrong and is above the rules in just about every area of business.  But maybe that isn't the case.  It looks like they face some of the same struggles as everyone else.  Their stock is struggling, they're doing layoffs, they're shutting down projects, and employee disengagement seems to be on the rise, if you believe what you read.  I'm sure Google is an interesting place to work but you might want to do your research before head off to the promised land.

America's Powerful CEOs 40 And Under

Forbes just released America's Powerful CEOs 40 and Under which highlights 21 chief executives that run companies worth more than $500 million.  Congratulations to Lanham for making this list!

My Mamma and Obama

My mom works on the presidential transition team and got to meet the Obamas.  Check out the picture below with Michelle.  Cool stuff.

Plane Crash Today

I hope I never have to pose for a picture like this.  This is really incredible.

Famous College Roommates

Here's a cool article talking about famous college roommates.  Can you name all of the ones below?