Xobni CEO Jeff Bonforte on hiring and working with the best talent
Xobni is an email software startup that raised millions of dollars and was rumored to be an acquisition target for Microsoft. Led by former Yahoo VP Jeff Bonforte, it’s one of the hottest companies in the world right now. Gabor Cselle, the VP of engineering recently left. From many accounts, it seems like an amiable departure.
The CEO posted a great comment on TechCrunch that provides some great insight into managing top employees:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/23/a-xobni-executive-leaves-the-red-hot-startup-but-why/#comment-2418072
Here’s a couple great quotes from Bonforte:
* When Gabor came to me, I gave him the same advice I would give everyone that has worked for or with me, “Your work is a choice not an obligation. Do what makes you happy. If the company can do something to make you happier here, great, lets do it, but if not then that is ok too. We will all survive.”
* We can all second guess if someone would have stayed somewhere they might have made more money or not, but in the end, we should all do what we want to do in life.