Comments on: so what’s theladders really worth? http://www.cheezhead.com/2008/02/21/theladders-annual-revenue/ Insight and opinion from the world of employment. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:01:22 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: eric shannon http://www.cheezhead.com/2008/02/21/theladders-annual-revenue/comment-page-1/#comment-114548 eric shannon Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:23:57 +0000 http://www.cheezhead.com/2008/02/21/theladders-annual-revenue/#comment-114548 the future belongs to companies that create more value than they capture - the future is not about greed. http://www.internetinc.com/free-creates-value-for-jobs-boards the future belongs to companies that create more value than they capture – the future is not about greed. http://www.internetinc.com/free-creates-value-for-jobs-boards

]]> By: alan darling http://www.cheezhead.com/2008/02/21/theladders-annual-revenue/comment-page-1/#comment-114542 alan darling Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:40:04 +0000 http://www.cheezhead.com/2008/02/21/theladders-annual-revenue/#comment-114542 Ladders has just implemented a strange new strategy in an economy where there are fewer jobs and candidates are easier to find. Ladders has always charged job hunters to sign up - $30/month/$180/year, which isn't much if you're actively looking and the site is any good. Recruiters and employers were always allowed to post $100K+ jobs for free. I run a retained executive search firm, and virtually never use paid advertising. I do post positions at free sites, which has been primarily Netshare, RiteSite and the Ladders (until recently) . All three specialize in $100K+ positions. Ladders has just started phase 2 of their double dipping strategy, and it will make their site less appealing in the long run to job hunters. We'll see what that does to their value. In phase 1, starting November 1, 2007, they started charging new employers/recruiters $6,000 to $10,000 a year to post jobs or search resumes. Existing employers/recruiters were allowed to continue using it for free - for a while. In phase 2, which started August 1, 2008, The Ladders started charging existing users $4500 to $10,000 per year to use the service. Most recruiters and many employers were already using The Ladders before November 1, 2008, so the drop off last November 1 wasn't much. However, now usage from the people their members want to court (recruiters and employers) will fall off significantly, because there are many places to drop $5000 or $10,000 to look at resumes and place ads. Bear in mind that their members - the job hunters - are still being charged to join The Ladders. Are they going to see the 35,000 $100K+ jobs that they've seen in the past, now that it costs money to post them there? Especially considering that employers/recruiters can post these jobs for free at Netshare and RiteSite? Do their job-hunter members know about this change? By the way, now that my Ladders membership costs me money, I don't have one any more. Better ways to spend my time and money. Ladders has just implemented a strange new strategy in an economy where there are fewer jobs and candidates are easier to find.

Ladders has always charged job hunters to sign up – $30/month/$180/year, which isn’t much if you’re actively looking and the site is any good.

Recruiters and employers were always allowed to post $100K+ jobs for free.

I run a retained executive search firm, and virtually never use paid advertising. I do post positions at free sites, which has been primarily Netshare, RiteSite and the Ladders (until recently) . All three specialize in $100K+ positions.

Ladders has just started phase 2 of their double dipping strategy, and it will make their site less appealing in the long run to job hunters. We’ll see what that does to their value.

In phase 1, starting November 1, 2007, they started charging new employers/recruiters $6,000 to $10,000 a year to post jobs or search resumes. Existing employers/recruiters were allowed to continue using it for free – for a while.

In phase 2, which started August 1, 2008, The Ladders started charging existing users $4500 to $10,000 per year to use the service. Most recruiters and many employers were already using The Ladders before November 1, 2008, so the drop off last November 1 wasn’t much. However, now usage from the people their members want to court (recruiters and employers) will fall off significantly, because there are many places to drop $5000 or $10,000 to look at resumes and place ads.

Bear in mind that their members – the job hunters – are still being charged to join The Ladders. Are they going to see the 35,000 $100K+ jobs that they’ve seen in the past, now that it costs money to post them there? Especially considering that employers/recruiters can post these jobs for free at Netshare and RiteSite? Do their job-hunter members know about this change?

By the way, now that my Ladders membership costs me money, I don’t have one any more. Better ways to spend my time and money.

]]> By: Martin Snyder http://www.cheezhead.com/2008/02/21/theladders-annual-revenue/comment-page-1/#comment-87802 Martin Snyder Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:22:47 +0000 http://www.cheezhead.com/2008/02/21/theladders-annual-revenue/#comment-87802 Oh I dont know....in a stagflated economy or when stock valuations look iffy, T yields are in the 2's, and demographics point to tight employment, holding a business that generates cash may be better than actually holding cash..... if that is true, valuations will creep upward as fewer good deals are out there. Another factor is that big deals are having funding problems because of credit issues in the leveraged market. Smaller deals like this may be the only kind being done for awhile, which will also push valuations. Contracted medium to long term revenue is worth more, naturally, than short term transactional revenue, but eyeballs are still convertible to $$. Oh I dont know….in a stagflated economy or when stock valuations look iffy, T yields are in the 2’s, and demographics point to tight employment, holding a business that generates cash may be better than actually holding cash….. if that is true, valuations will creep upward as fewer good deals are out there. Another factor is that big deals are having funding problems because of credit issues in the leveraged market. Smaller deals like this may be the only kind being done for awhile, which will also push valuations. Contracted medium to long term revenue is worth more, naturally, than short term transactional revenue, but eyeballs are still convertible to $$.

]]> By: Michael Homoula http://www.cheezhead.com/2008/02/21/theladders-annual-revenue/comment-page-1/#comment-87799 Michael Homoula Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:16:26 +0000 http://www.cheezhead.com/2008/02/21/theladders-annual-revenue/#comment-87799 Time for The Ladders to cash in. Sustainability is a big issue for what they offer and like wine there is a right and a wrong time to pull the cork. They should pull the cork now at an optimum time. Time for The Ladders to cash in. Sustainability is a big issue for what they offer and like wine there is a right and a wrong time to pull the cork. They should pull the cork now at an optimum time.

]]> By: Rob Humphrey http://www.cheezhead.com/2008/02/21/theladders-annual-revenue/comment-page-1/#comment-87730 Rob Humphrey Fri, 22 Feb 2008 05:14:18 +0000 http://www.cheezhead.com/2008/02/21/theladders-annual-revenue/#comment-87730 The Ladders is [like many sites] a temporary community. This creates a fluctuation in valuation depending on what the term sheet looks like at a specific point in time. They should take whatever they can get and get out...if indeed it is ripe for a return as you describe. The Ladders is [like many sites] a temporary community. This creates a fluctuation in valuation depending on what the term sheet looks like at a specific point in time. They should take whatever they can get and get out…if indeed it is ripe for a return as you describe.

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