Cadence Takes a Page Out of Microsoft’s Playbook

With the Microsoft-Yahoo! drama fresh on everyone’s mind, Mike Fister and the Cadence board have finally done something that shows a bit of boldness, some imagination, and possibly some courage. Cadence has made a hostile takeover bid for Mentor Graphics. >>>

Social Networking Without Boundaries : hi5 CEO Ramu Yalamanchi (Part 8)

SM: Have you seen advertisers take advantage of the platforms?

RY: Yes, we have. Advertisers are interested in, and this is not exclusive to applications, identifying methods that will result in more users having a higher level of engagement with them. Applications provide a terrific way to do that. It can be accomplished through a game or some utilitarian application. >>>

Social Networking Without Boundaries : hi5 CEO Ramu Yalamanchi (Part 7)

SM: Social networks are becoming the voice of a generation.

RY: Another thing to think about is that people are fundamentally social. What is happening online is a reflection of social behavior in the real world. Sites like ours just enhancing natural behavior. >>>

Social Networking Without Boundaries : hi5 CEO Ramu Yalamanchi (Part 6)

SM: A lot of rep firms have a reputation for having very high commissions, often upwards of 60%. Are your rep firms requiring commissions that high?

RY: No, they are not. It is a volume and scale business. Compared to what it would cost us to build and hold our own sales force, as a percentage of revenue, I think we get close to those levels. That is especially true as we scale bigger. It becomes competitive. It is as good as what the next rep firm is willing to offer. >>>

Social Networking Without Boundaries : hi5 CEO Ramu Yalamanchi (Part 5)

SM: How did you fund the initial startup? Where did you get the funding? RY: We had a rolling round, primarily from friends and family, with a target goal of $250,000. The first $10,000 came from my dad. >>>

Social Networking Without Boundaries : hi5 CEO Ramu Yalamanchi (Part 3)

SM: What business did you think you were getting into in 2003?

RY: The business we thought we were getting into could broadly be defined as communication. We thought we were providing an option beyond what people were doing with email and instant messaging. Over time, new methods of communication have continually been invented. It just seemed like there was a potential for a more fluid web-based communication. >>>

Social Networking Without Boundaries : hi5 CEO Ramu Yalamanchi (Part 2)

SM: After working in some of the leadership development positions you felt confident you could leverage your experience with a startup of your own?

RY: Yes. Unfortunately, I was overconfident. I jumped back into starting companies but I still had some learning to do. >>>

Social Networking Without Boundaries : hi5 CEO Ramu Yalamanchi (Part 1)

Ramu Yalamanchi runs hi5, one of the leading social networking companies in the world. The company is recognized as one of the fastest growing social networking companies. Here I discuss the strategy behind hi5 with Ramu and gain some of his insights for the future. >>>