At Silicon Alley Insider Startup 2009 on Wednesday, Federated Media Publishing CEO John Battelle spoke about why he is giving up his role as CEO of the company and is searching for a successor.
"When I started FM, I wrote that if we got to the point of success where we reach a plateau, I know there is a point where I don't scale. There is a really big company to be built, and I don't know how to do that," Battelle said.
Battelle plans to stay on as chairman of the company. He added that it is easier to search for a successor and step down as CEO when you own the company, rather than when you don't. "I am looking for someone who isn't afraid of nine-figure revenues. At The Industry Standard, the fax machine was literally printing money, but I didn't understand it," he said, referring to the magazine he started in San Francisco in 1988.
We will be bringing you updates throughout the day from Startup 2009. To watch the conference online, check out its
livestream.
- Maria Woehr
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