Daptiv is latest tech company to cut jobs

This is a company from the previous bubble. Used to be Madrona's bet

They make SaaS collaboration and project management software

They might not have lost any customers, which I highly doubt, but they're not gaining any. PP tools are yesterdays thing and there are big players dominating the market. I'd put money on them going down, they've already had their chance and magmt still hasn't proved any are capable at turning it around. Home page a good example; they've only had 11yrs to work on messaging and all.

This company just can never get it right....For all of their marketing, you would think they were #1 in the marketplace....now layoffs again? You don't cut staff if you are growing only if you are bloated and blowing through your cash...

Love the first comment. I had an insight into this company's marketing, and let me tell you, the web designer has no interest in keeping things current or trying to listen to any sort of input from anyone else about the website. It doesn't help that his bosses both have their heads stuck up their arses as well. The marketing team is stale and they have no idea what they're doing. This also pays no mention to the fact that both the COO and CFO, who have been leaders within the company, were fired. Jeff disrespects almost everyone within the company and ever since his arrival things have gone South as far as the culture within the company goes. His inappropriate actions and outbursts are going to drive this company into the ground. Say buh-bye to Daptiv!

Daptiv (formerly eProject) lost the 2 best management people, former COO and CFO, they had and now everything Daptiv has to offer is smoke and mirrors. The VP of Sales has more than an anger management problem, has been with the company the longest, has the most stock options, they can't fire him, he makes up numbers to make their board happy. Kiss this company goodbye, or at least those of us who used to work there, would be satisfied to see it go where it really belongs. Bad management means bad product which equals a vulnerable company.

Saying CTS has an "...anger management problem..." is putting it politely. Management here proves the "Peter Principle." Dilbert's author visits once per week for inspiration. A buncha wannabes who get together once a day to play "business."

Have to agree with the management comments. Without getting into specifics, the short is they've done nothing positive except raise a round which they'll only burn through. No product strategy experience, sales is run by an angry used car salesman, marketing is a joke - talk about no vision or execution, can't believe there hasn't been a change there, and it all trickles down from a poor CEO fit from F5 of all places.

I'll have to disagree with bitter sentiment of many of the posts here. I also got laid off in this latest round, and concede the CEO is a poor match for the company and its (former) culture. But I enjoyed working there. Daptiv still has a lot of good people, a space-leading product with some serious new value waiting in the wings, and a solid SaaS business model. The recurring revenue from the SaaS model will keep Daptiv from going under, although I strongly suspect they'll have to layoff more staff until they get expenses under that recurring revenue number, because they're not selling squat right now.
My prescription for Daptiv is:
1) Cut middle management a bit more--you don't need two GPMs for example (even if their titles are different) or director-level positions. I'd even drop another VP.
2) Too late, but bring spending under control. There's simply no excuse for blowing through $21 million of VC money in a little over a year with nothing to show for it but a hip new company name.
3) Direct sales at SMBs again; stop living/dying on huge deals.
4) Run Daptiv like a start-up again. That means a smaller space, open communication and ideas flowing up as well as down.
5) Dump the mismatched CEO and beg Steven Anderson to please, please, please come back and save the company once again.

Nice analysis. I'd also bring in new VPs of Sales and Marketing to get some of that change of direction needed.

Funny how whether the employees are current or former, bitter or positive they are unanimous is the assessment of the CEO and CTS. What a legacy!

Aw, come one now. Jeff Pancottine--if and when he leaves--will be missed. Don't tell me you didn't enjoy him getting buzzed, then delivering tipsy, slightly confusing speeches at the company Christmas parties. And those on the 6th floor will no doubt miss his frequent profanity-laced tirades that often spilled out into the hallways. Jeff's anger management problem and low emotional IQ is, if anything, endearing--just ask the VPs who get to sit in meetings with him every week. Even those uncomfortable moments when you had to ride up/down in the elevator with him are moments to be remembered. Awkward moments, but still. Jeff has carved-out his place in Daptiv lore and his legacy and contribution will be felt and remembered long after he's inducted into the Shane Jones Hall of Fame.

From top-to-bottom, this company has done nothing in the past few years. I'm surprised at how much money the investors threw into this company since 2005.

Lets give credit to the former COO, Mr.anderson, for resurrecting the company. However, lets be reminded he did not want to become the CEO, so instead of letting him go, the gave him the COO title and basically did nothing afterwards. His release was expected. The CFO didn't have the experience to run a software company and basically just ran reports all day and provided them the investors and to Mr.Pancottine aka Hanky Panky(yes he's made passes to friends of employees before).

Next to go obviously should be Hanky Panky and CTS. What has he done except confuse the sales team and the direction the of the sales process? Sit on the side and collect his HIGH salary.

What about the VP-Dev? Well yes please! Nothing new has come from that department except for a bunch of so-called "new releases" which is a glorified name to fix all the bugs previously recorded.

Basically, Daptiv is a clicking time bomb just waiting to explode to the 100 or so employees left can add to the WA State unemployment rate.

A company being "frugal" with its investors' money does not spend a bundle on a Christmas party, rent a huge amount of additional office space (which it then had to give up), and send a bunch of employees to Europe for an industry conference. Daptiv will soon return to the happy days of old when there were 16 employees and it looked like all was lost. The only thing is they won't have Steven Anderson to bail them out again this time. They'll just get bought and be a footnoot in some larger company's financial statements for a year before they disappear entirely. Anybody who is still there needs to get a clue and get out while they can. I doubt the severance packages will be much to write home about when the inevitable sale goes through.

I wouldn't place any bet on them getting bought. Economy is tough and why would a real company want to absorb a thing like Dapfiz.

Sorry, but some of the comments here are over the top and pathetic. Yea, I got laid off from Daptiv too. It sucks but it happens. It's been happening a lot lately. Get over it.
And while we'd all dearly love to see Mr. Smith and Mr. Pancottine get the very public sacking they so richly deserve, there's no reason to rag on the entire company as if there weren't a single good, intelligent person there. There are still many good people in Daptiv and I wish them nothing but the best.
And to "DAP-who?" who claims that Steven Anderson did nothing at Daptiv: Are you drunk? Trust me, if Mr. Anderson had done nothing, he'd still be there. Instead he influenced hearts and minds in a way that Mr. Pancottine didn't agree with and couldn't compete with, so he was removed in a shameful political coup.
Everybody can stop assaulting Daptiv with hyperbole. Sure, they've got some problems and some changes to make. A lot of companies do. But who's in Gartners leaders quadrant? That's right, Daptiv. They have a solid product and are working on some truly innovative functionality. If you worked there and were conscious, you know this, so quit throwing your sour grapes. Go get a new job and best of luck to you in your career.

But I think in these posts that were obviously written by former Daptive employees, most of the "they" is intended to mean Jeff and CTS, not Daptiv as a whole. Agreed that the comment about Steven Anderson is way off the mark. But in almost every other case, the remarks, while seemingly addressed to the organization as an entity, really are pointed at Jeff and CTS. The problems lie in poor management at the top, and lack of vision and direction in multiple departments. Who's to blame for that? The leadership, aka Jeff. Poor sales and worse morale in the sales department? CTS. Indeed, the company has a decent product, and a lot of smart people. What they need is some smarts at the top to lead those smart people in the right dirction. As it is, their current floundering and flailing is giving their competition a chance to catch up, and it's ground that Daptiv sadly may never recover. And yes, I've got a new job and harbor no resentment toward Daptiv. I just think the management blows.

This is a message to all you nay-sayers out here.

DAPTIV is here to stay! Sorry if you were one of the unfortunate to be let go. DEAL WITH IT! We certainly have. We had to move in another direction. We brought in a wonderful CFO who is doing great things for us. Sales are still there, the customer base is still there, and our product is still there.

If you'd like to discuss, please call anytime.

www.daptiv.com

Well Mr. Pancottine, you continue to keep your head high above the clouds. Put the pipe down and come back to reality. Shed that fool CHRISTIAN SMITH from your payrolls and Daptiv might have a chance. Honestly, the only chance Daptiv really has is if you follow the loser out the door and take the loser management team you have kept in place with you. Or you can continue to burn the lame investor's money who deserve it because they keep you there.

Customers moving to real products. Dying company. Just burning through investor money. No future. Plus, abusive management, post above proves point, with bad rap around town.

I’m beside myself with worry, because I’m reading comments on a blog that question a vendor’s business.

I was brought up to believe everything I read. What should I do?

Interesting blog. I am interested in Daptiv, but hearing of a 33% layoff recently is quite alarming. Rumor on the street is that 3 sales people and 5 managment people are in Hawaii spending more of the investors money for what they call the "The Presidents Club." The President is obviously an utter moron to spend money like that in times like these. Customers, potential employees, and most definitely investors and prospects run far and fast from this sinking ship of fools.

Nice job Mr. Jeff Pancottine. Could you please explain to the blog why you would go on a hiatus to Hawaii after a 50% reduction in year over year revenue and a 30% layoff. Yes, 50% drop off in sales! What kind of fool are you? Aloha!!!

Good Point, Santa Claus.

why are you losers still talking about this lost cause?

It takes all types of people to make this world turn, but it takes common sense to make this a better place....
It's about time we all move on to care for what is important in our lives. There are better days to come and better opportunities for all of us. These blogs are not going to do any good for anyone to read or write on when anyone of us can loose our jobs tomorrow or at the end of the work day. We are all better off taking care of what we have and should appreciate that we have. There are people that don't even have a house or don't know where their next meal is coming from. Take the time to think about that and think about wasting your time writing on this blog and banishing Daptiv. We all have problems of our own. Let Daptiv work out their problems while we work on ours. In due time, things will work out for themselves.

Aka Hanky Panky- that works. Mr Pancottine had a whole lot of fun over at F5 too. What a joke!

Sorry but we had to lay more people off today.

That only means more $$$$ to us who are still here!

Party anyone?

Jeff--really? There's actually still more money? Is it from those blockbuster sales the company has been seeing? Or did you con some more VC out of those boobs who have been funding you to date? Wow, how cool! Go buy yourself a boat--you deserve it! Heck, buy two!

Another 20 or so gone today apparently.

I heard that they cut off the laid off employees left hands as they left the building.

I am glad I read all this garbage - now I know why my husband came home today without his left hand! He wouldn't tell me.