Open Source Go-To-Market Success: Liferay CEO Bryan Cheung (Part 2)

Sramana: At that time there were a lot of companies in the Valley that built expensive offices without a business plan to support them. Bryan Cheung: I remember some of my co-workers had varied backgrounds. We met writers and former voice actors, and they were working as Web experience engineers. A lot of money was

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Open Source Go-To-Market Success: Liferay CEO Bryan Cheung (Part 1)

Bryan Cheung is the CEO and co-founder of Liferay. Drawing on his technical experience, understanding of customer needs, and a passion for end users, Bryan leads Liferay in meeting its commitment to deliver focused and effective business solutions to its customers and its community. He graduated from the University of California Berkeley with a bachelor’s

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Rolling Up Professional Networks: Dan Serfaty, CEO of Viadeo (Part 7)

Sramana: I can definitely understand why you would have the biggest challenge in India. It is an English-speaking country, and it is well connected to Silicon Valley and tied into America. Dan Serfaty: The Silicon Valley connection is key. LinkedIn is very popular in Silicon Valley.

Rolling Up Professional Networks: Dan Serfaty, CEO of Viadeo (Part 6)

Sramana: What is the size of your user base today? Dan Serfaty: Globally, we have 35 million members. We need to distinguish between emerging countries and other countries because that affects revenue generation. We did not start reaching out into the international community until 2007.

Rolling Up Professional Networks: Dan Serfaty, CEO of Viadeo (Part 5)

Sramana: Did you monetize any other channels besides recruiters? Dan Serfaty: After a short while we decided to implement a membership fee. Early on I decided that I did not care if people left because we were going to charge a membership fee.

Rolling Up Professional Networks: Dan Serfaty, CEO of Viadeo (Part 4)

Sramana: What did you ultimately do with the import business? Did you sell it? Dan Serfaty: I sold it to my partner and the management of the company. When 1999 came around and the Internet was going crazy, I felt I had the perfect profile to get involved. I had the right diploma, which makes

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Rolling Up Professional Networks: Dan Serfaty, CEO of Viadeo (Part 3)

Sramana: What did you do after you sold the tourist business in 1991? Dan Serfaty: During the second year of that company, I started another company from scratch with a friend of mine. The frontier in Europe opened in 1993. Up to that time it was difficult to import goods from one country to another.

Rolling Up Professional Networks: Dan Serfaty, CEO of Viadeo (Part 2)

Sramana: What did you do once you graduated from HEC? Dan Serfaty: I graduated in 1987. I worked for two years in Italy, which is where I met my wife. I worked in marketing. In France, military service was mandatory at the time, and a way to avoid doing it was for the best students

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