Looking at Classmates’ Proposed Move August 22, 2008
Posted by hardly Strategic Concerns
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John Cook tells us today that Classmates is moving from Renton to Seattle, and specifically to 333 Elliott Avenue West.
Oh my, where to go with this!
How about recognizing Classmates for having the smarts to move their Internet-focused company out Renton? Finally.
As a recruiter, I know there's no doubt that Classmates looses a fair number of people to the competition. Second, some percentage of the people who leave do so because of the location, and bigger percentage say they are leaving because of the location, but it's really something else (their boss, going to work on a sexier product, etc).
What puzzles me is the location of their move. 333 Elliott is a very nice place to work. Especially if you live on Queen Anne, or in Belltown, or Ballard, or even up on Capitol Hill. But if you're commuting in from the suburbs, wow, it's a pain. And that's only going to get worse.
Now, look at this quote from the article, "...its (Classmates) audience is typically made up of people over the age of 35. That audience has different needs...". Yup, I'll agree with that.
Here's the thing. If you agree with the notion that you should have people creating a product that is made up of the target audience, wouldn't you want to locate your firm in the suburbs of Seattle? Where the 35+ yos are (with their families & kids in the public schools)? How about Bellevue, or Kirkland, or Issaquah, or even North Bend? Think of all the disgruntled ex-Expedia folks they could land!
On the upside, I'll be working with some folks who are about to be ex-employees of Classmates! ;-)
