Dear vBulletin Forum Community - vBSEO is Suspending Operations

if the minimum you are trying to achieve is "ensuring transparency" as you close things out - why bring us all into it in this way and create unnecessary conflict?

 

the whole thing to me is not being handled very appropriately and while we are customers... the approach to me is very childish and unprofessional.

.....

as a user/customer of vBSEO - it's nice to be kept in the loop; but not in this manner. While I agree the payment acceptance should not continue if the product is no longer supported and yes, as customers, we should know it won't be supported or continued any longer.

Being email blasted (without consent) and the way it's being handled - is not appropriate or professional in any way; it's an issue between you and your partner - not your customers or even potential customers. I would never buy into a product you offered in the future due to how this particular issue was handled; so really you have only hurt yourself. I don't care to be drawn into a battle - I just want the product that helps my businesses best and at this point with the way this is handled would rather remove it entirely and not deal with either of you (even if you do "revamp" or revive it) if this is how business is conducted.

As another poster mentioned that it's all old customers you contacted... yet this is the FIRST time I've heard about anything - or from you since 2009 as it was mentioned.

The entire way this ordeal has been handled does not reflect on you well professionally at all. Agree to disagree with Juan. Close it down - get a lawyer to get it closed if needed and then handle us professionally as customers letting us know -- not presenting it in a high school drama'ish cat fight. You can present your "reasons" to the hilt but I'm a quiet customer and had no issue with software or the company until this was brought to my attention; so now even if you "keep the company" or rebuild it - unfortunately I'm sure I'm not the only one that sees it this way and you will loose many loyal customers out of this.

 

She also apparently doesn't have access to customers since 2009; and without having access to sales/books... obviously as part owner she needs to deal with lawyers before blasting us as I'm sure she is owed pay on top of many other legalities which I have no idea about or what their issue even is in the first place. Obviously it's a big legal mess when you think of all the potentials involved... deal with THAT first then let us know as customers what is definitely happening and what our options are.

 

From what I've gathered, and others have stated in this thread, vBSEO is doing poorly but despite those issues there are parties that are still interested in acquiring the company.

If Juan shuts the company down or dissolves it, Ilia gets nothing. So it is in her best interest to take control somehow and steer the company back towards an interested party to make a deal and get paid.

An invader without an army, is no invader at all. That's where all of us vBSEO customers seem to come in.

 

I get that. but presentation to potential continued supporters of her company appears more of a mudslinging . The entire email/thread felt as though I was being drawn into some family/personal matter/battle of which I don't want to deal with - i just want to have good product, period.

 

You're not alone in these thoughts.

This was a delusional attempt at best by the author to revive a business matter that doesn't involve the customers of VBSEO.

 

If were are gracefully closing the business and notifying customers, it's not starting over.

Step 1 is making sure they know the true status of the company and helping to ensure nobody else buys a product that they will not receive, or receive the contracted support when needed.

I don't feel any direct responsibility. I feel empathy, and I am concerned. I want what is best and fair for them.

This isn't as philosophical as "paying it forward" or making amends. Only Juan needs to make amends. This is a business transition phase I'm calling for.

What is right for their immediate future is being aware of the true state of the company and the plans of its CEO, which have not been communicated to them prior.

Starting with the first steps are not a lack of foresight. I'm keenly aware that the company may be beyond any form of repair.

It's not beyond a graceful closure.

I don't ignore the changing market conditions. As I've said, if the vBulletin install base decreases in growth, there are less customer prospects for vBSEO.

That has absolutely nothing to do with how a company that still is accepting orders conducts its business, and is certainly no excuse for customer abandonment or a failure to fulfill some new orders.

I realize that anti-vB sentiment (warranted or otherwise) is overlapping with this topic.

vBSEO's management is entirely a separate matter.

This isn't about the future or starting fresh. If the company is finished, and about to be taken off life support, it's time to announce it. If it has any potential whatsoever, it's well beyond time to make its transition.

 

I'm about to disagree with you on several points, but I want you to know that I still appreciate your feedback and solid questions!

Agree. I have attempted through various means to rejoin the business and put the company on a corrected course since 2009, making vBSEO a focus again. Juan prevented that from happening.

I know some people do not like this method of communication the company status. However, the "flak" is all for Juan regarding the state of the company.

I'm glad that part is partially accomplished and that the news is out within the community.

My concern for the customer based does not preclude a concern for my investment. I've stated several times that we had intent to sell the company, and if operations continued to be viable, it would still be a commercial project unless the only option is open source, a decision I have not made yet.

You are correct. I am not 100% committed to any of the options that I have repeatedly outlined in this thread.

As I've said, I have not had any access behind the scenes to see the true state of the company. I do not know what is possible or not.

As such, you generally make decisions after having reviewed all the relevant information and data to make that kind of decision. I think that should be self-evident.

Joe was caught in the cross fire of a hostile company takeover that was simply of matter of who changed the passwords to everything first. Any tweets he's made, considering how this happened, are understandable to me whether I like seeing them tweeted or not.

Look at the passion in many of the comments here by people not even associated with the company for comparison.

The company was always an investment, and that means financial considerations. I know some people who try to convince you that they have no interest in anything to do with money, but I don't advise you take them too seriously. It's always a factor.

We spent 4 very challenging and difficult years building the company the situations the likes of which would certainly be great material for the Spanish novela we've been joking about here.

 

That was a part of our original business plan. I wanted to explore it; Juan refused. In hindsight, we don't know how that would have impacted the company, as it didn't happen.

That is an option. I'm not in a position to make that determination right now. I think it's one of the more lowly probable options out there, unless we find a new team to take over.

 

My complaint has nothing to do with Internet Brands, vBulletin, or any change in the market.

Agree, absolutely.

Your data is safe and available only to me as I am the co-founder of Crawlability Inc.

There was no official "firing" and Juan had no authority to do so. We hold equal decision making authority. The whole process happened with Juan changing the account passwords, effectively locking me out.

 

Re-indexing will happen for all sites when the URL structure is changed, but is less of an issue for small sites as you suggested.

Goal #1 is to make sure everyone knows the state of the company, letting you start thinking about your options for a post-vBSEO world.

 

This is correct.

 

Transparency requires talking to people.

You are being informed of the status of the company. You were not being informed of it prior.

 

I wouldn't expect anyone to be highly impressed with the method. However, I knew full well that they would appreciate the information and disclosure.

However, the customers at vbseo.com were not highly impressed with the abandonment either, and absolutely nobody else stepped up to inform them of the state of the company, nor prevent them from making a bad purchasing decision.

The Buy page is still enabled.

There was no other manner. This is why this is the first you've heard of it.

Absolutely, that's the transparency in communication I referred to in response to your earlier post.

You received the email from the email you provided at vbseo.com when you signed up and purchased the product. You can unsubscribe if you no longer request to receive these messages.

Incorrect. The business dispute is between myself and my co-founder. However, the issue is VERY much relevant to our customers for the reasons you've acknowledged above.

Participation in this discussion is optional.

The history of my departure and my goal in making these disclosures has been repeatedly discussed in this thread.

I agree. This is certainly not what I expected when I co-founded Crawlability Inc and vBSEO back in 2005.

We've come to no legal conclusion in 4 years. As someone earlier suggested, if I did not tell you about this, you simply be surprised to discover someday soon that vbseo.com is simply not online.

When our customers stopped getting supported, or new customers didn't get their orders fulfilled, I'm sure that our loyal customers were disappearing very fast.

I may not earn or restore any loyalty. What I have achieved is ensuring that you know the true status of the company now.

 

Customers need information now.

Participation in anything beyond that is optional. I invite you to the discussion and ask for your support.

 

There have been several interested parties, and Juan is fully aware of it.

There is value even if the company shuts down, but we should be exploring all options. The peak of vBSEO's value has already been destroyed. Crawlability Inc. has lots of varied intellectual property assets.

He says he would like to close it without selling any assets (essentially) for non-specific reasons; however, it is certainly a good idea to investigate what commitments/transactions he's already made with the intellectual property of Crawlability Inc and the numerous projects its resources have been invested in.

I can't be transparent without an audience. I can't make sure customers know what's up, without sharing it with them.

All else aside, I hope that you appreciated being told the true status of the company.

 

To present an issue, you have to indicate who caused the issue as well.

You can't have a good product if its development is discontinued, it's not supported, and the company is closing out unannounced. The best you can hope for is that what you have installed is good enough forever.

 

The business dispute does not directly involve the customers. However, present status of the company and the abandonment allowed by the current "management" team does directly impact customers of vBSEO.

As a customer, you now have relevant information you did not have before I made the announcement of company status. There is nothing delusional about that.

Likewise, I have discussed options and noted that many of them are not highly probable. In my opinion, that's quite a rational perspective.