The most important part of any startup are the people involved. I've already got a few great folks who are working with me on FMP, but I'm looking for a couple more. Two slots in particular are key.

First, I need a technology partner. This will be the person responsible for specifying and coding - or overseeing the coding - of the FMP platform. This platform must provide a dashboard to all FMP partners, be they site owners or marketers. The core application beyond the customer dashboards will be an ad serving implementation, this job will spec and implement that solution. The person who takes this role will be familiar with Web 2.0 development tools (I'm not a LAMP fanatic, I hear AJAX is the next cool thing, but you get my drift) and will have had experience executing Web 2.0 type sites. What, Battelle, do you mean by that? Well, sites like Bloglines, Topix, Feedster, etc. In other words, large scale sites, but more importantly, sites that grok how to interact with data and customers in a lightweight way. Familiarity with ad serving solutions - especially PHPAds and or others, is important, but if you are the right person, that's not critical, as I imagine you can learn that right quick, and I have potential partners who can handle the heavy lifting there.

CAVEAT: I really have no idea how to spec this job. I just know I need a really great geek to work with me, one who gets what I'm trying to do. If you think that's you, or if you want to grok the outlines of the site, please email me at jbat at battellemedia dot com, or call me at 415 461 5966. I've sent mail to a few folks who I know are great geeks - Cory, Waxy, Dave, Jeremy, Mark - to ask them to help me get this spec right.

Second, I need a sales partner. This is someone who lives and breathes the value of the network FMP will create, and who works in a consultative, client driven way. The ideal person has worked in the Web 2.0 world of sales and is familiar with how major agencies, ad serving networks, paid search networks, and new, innovative marketing solutions work - ie everything from TribalFusion to AdBrite, Atlas DMT to Doubleclick. A passion for good sites, and a belief in the power of endemic advertising is a must. If you think this is you, please let me know!Email me at jbat at battellemedia dot com, or call me at 415 461 5966.

CAVEAT: I really don't want someone who is all about sales...it has to be someone who is all about the idea....and who can help others see how that idea can help their business....

Thanks!

Many of you know that I'm starting something, I haven't been coy about it, exactly, it was one of my "predictions for 2005" over at Searchblog.

From that post:

I will be involved in starting a new business in the field of media and technology. It will start very slowly, and I'll screw up as much as I possibly can in the early stages, before imposing it on the rest of the world. Hopefully, you'll all be there to keep me honest as I try to figure out a few ideas I've been simmering for the past year or so.

Well, this site is dedicated to that new company, and I intend to be as transparent as I can afford to be about the company and its intentions over the next few months as I struggle to get it up and running. In other words, if you are going to make mistakes, may as well make them in public - they get corrected faster that way.

For now, the company is called "FM Publishing." The "FM" stands for "Federated Media" - a nod toward the fundamental idea behind the company - that of federation, as opposed to ownership (it's also sort of a nod to the evolution of a medium - e.g. radio going from AM to FM). The company is a publishing business focused on high quality content - that should come as no surprise to those of you who know what I love to do. But the difference is that I do not plan to "own" most of the content that will be critical to FM. Instead, I plan to partner with site authors, acting as a platform which provides important services to them - revenue (in the form of advertising), back end support, and the like. In essence, FM will act as a publisher to sites which need and want a publisher. We don't plan to take a lot of folks on, initially, but hope to grow over time.

FM was inspired by the things I learned writing the book, as well as running Searchblog and acting as Band Manager for Boing Boing. For now, nothing is really changing with regard to my role at Boing Boing, but when FMP is up and running, it's my goal to move BB's business services over to FMP, and the kind folks behind BB have agreed - at least in principle. I still have to deliver what I say I can deliver, and that's non trivial.

As for where the business stands right now, I am in active discussions with potential angel investors. I am starting with strategic investors - companies that might see FMP as an opportunity to learn, and, if the company does well, as a logical acquisition. Why did I decide this? Because I've learned what I am good at - starting things, getting them to a certain size. I don't do so well at running ongoing businesses where the expectation is that lots and lots of money should be made. I find that a bit uninteresting (though others of course find it fascinating), and should the company get to that stage, it's best to let the professional managers take over, whether that means selling to the right buyer (like Bloglines and Flickr) or bringing in someone who lives to manage media properties all day long. I want to be upfront about that with everyone I might work with, so there you have it.

I'm not allergic to financial investors - folks who put money in with the express intent of getting a lot more money out - but for now, I prefer to keep it strategic, and small. In fact, I hope to build FMP in a very Web 2.0 way - a lightweight business model focused on innovation in assembly, driven by the force of many - you get the picture.

The companies I am talking to are all in the media space, because I think it's important they understand where I come from and respect the value of the independent voice. So far, they seem to get it.

I don't plan to use this site as a place to tout how cool my idea is, or how different it is from the approaches of others. But I do intend to post pleas for help, musings on the meaning of it all, and open positions. I hope you will come along for the ride, I could sure use the company!