Weedle
Weedle the new job search thing is due to launch later today. I was at the Weedle preview last night and it looked kind of cool 
Basically Weedle are another social network but are a mixture of a golden pages and a social network. Think of it as a slicker linkedin where you can quite easily see what individual to use for a task/skill based on your Weedle network.
For example, if everyone I know on Weedle uses the same physiotherapist and I go looking for a physiotherapist, Weedle factor this into the search. Its kind of a smart way to find useful people for useful stuff.
I had a ton of questions about reviews, ratings, weightings of results that the team were more than happy to talk about. The Weedle team seemed to have an answer for nearly everything we through at them!
So pop over to Weedle.com later today and check them out.
Weedle is run by a complete shyster. Irish entrepreneurship at its lowest form. How can a start up have a PA on their books ? How much of his money went into this? I cant believe he conned the Americans into funding his massive salary and ego but no doubt he will sell it on in a few years, he doesn’t care about building real sustainable businesses. Check his track record, he never made a profit in a company in his life.
NOTE: I edited this to remove HIS name. You can fill in the blanks in your head if you like. (Jason)
They are going out, trying something kind of new and creating jobs. Who cares if someone at the top has a PA. In reality you have to have been there and done that before you can make such a judgment. If a PA helps him do a better job, then it seem like a good thing?
How exactly did they conn anyone into doing anything? I assume you are talking about investors. Investors make calculated risks based on the potential return. If that investment money pays for someones salary, then that seems like a fair trade off. Its all about return.
You have to be realistic .. At the moment are there any new startups with “sustainable businesses” badge? At the end of the day, if they can flip a company that is making a loss and still make a good return for investors then fair play to them, in my mind thats a job well done.
What is Weedle adding to the Irish economy? Its clever of the founders to use Enterprise Ireland but this is a Private Equity outfit at its heart and there is little appetite for building a Google, Yahoo or Facebook. The only show in town for the backers of Weedle is quick return on investment and by questionable means. I’d warn anyone who goes to make a career there that all is not as it seems. There is a clear investor agenda that will be executed at all costs. That is all I am saying. I attended the launch and have heard it all before from this CEO / CTO team.
They are adding jobs, inward investment, international awareness?
We need more Irish companies to be championed. I’m not sure that Weedle have the best solution, but they are focusing on a really interesting niche. They also seem to have the right structure for a high potential startup.
Make a career? No job is secure any more.
I’m not going to comment on Enterprise Ireland as they are a client of mine.
I don’t believe they are real ‘sustainable’ jobs. This money could be best spent on saving or creating other jobs and not helping a group of wealthy investors piece together a new venture. The CEO is convincing, I’ll give him that, but there is very little real substance to Weedle and this would worry me. Jobs are easily created but to hearald 4m investment I’d want to see a contribution to the real economy.
On the business model, the Weedle team know better than me, but whats teh difference between weedle and linkedin?
Hi Robert. I don’t recall meeting you at the launch, there were very few people there so I’m not sure how that happened. Apologies if I didn’t say hello.
I’m genuinely not sure where this is coming from. Perhaps you would like to have a chat offline to clear up your concerns. Feel free to email me at brendan dot hughes at weedle dot com.
Hi Jason. Thanks for responding so eloquently to Robert’s comments.
Thanks for the reply Brendan. Yes, I was there and we didn’t get to speak. What do you mean by ‘not sure where this is coming from’? I’m genuinely just expressing an opinion from what I understand of your plans and of the people behind your operation. I don’t have any particular desire to speak offline about it and, to be clear, I don’t have any ‘concerns’. In my view, you should be the one with the ‘concerns’. Where is the end-state for a start up like Weedle? The answer to that question is a takeover by a larger competitor. Who gets left behind in those situations? Answer, the employees; the investors usually set off into the sunset with bags of cash and these particular investors have done this in the past.
On this basis, it just doesn’t seem like a particularly edifying business story and I don’t believe its one that deserves undue praise.
Hi Robert. We certainly don’t deserve any praise just yet as we have only just released our site in beta – still a long way to go. Hopefully you might take the time some day to make contact in person so I can understand your perspective. All the best for now.
Brendan, with respect, not much to be gained by contacting you personally. You’re on a journey with Weedle and best of luck with that. I just don’t believe it has any merit as an Irish success story.