1) Jason and Mahalo are over. Their new strategy is very expensive and a multi-year road before it's a real business. It's a total rewrite, not a pivot by any means, if they do it well. No way Calacanis lasts a few more years at Mahalo (even if the board doesn't push him out).
2) Calacanis isn't really in charge at Mahalo AFAIK. The employees all report to Jason Rapp. Rapp and the board probably made the decision to layoff, though Calacanis was probably involved. He's being allowed to save face and ego. His role is more of a spokesperson than a CEO.
I think Calacanis simply can't force himself to do what it takes to make Mahalo successful because he's already rich. He's referred to Mahalo as "freeroll" meaning that even if it fails he's still rich. That kind of attitude is fine for getting things you love done, but it doesn't work when you're trying to do something you're not innately passionate about. He doesn't have the hunger (nor would almost anyone) to make Mahalo the kind of success it needs to be to justify its investment.
Paul Graham has said many times that he wouldn't start another startup because it's just too painful and he knows he couldn't stomach it now that he doesn't have the incentive he did before (to get rich).
I don't think there's anything wrong with this. It's natural human behavior to respond to incentives. I think when Calacanis finally realizes (or admits) this he'll be a much happier (if ego-bruised) guy.
POSITIVE:
Calacanis is unbelievably awesome when he's doing things he's passion about. TWiST and LAUNCH are flawless. He's the target demographic for the content himself and it shows.
He should turn LAUNCH newsletter into a head-to-head blog competitor to TechCrunch. Combined with TWiST and LAUNCH conference it really could become as influential and big as TC is.
He's got a ton of talent and energy, but I think Mahalo really drags him down. If he removed that burden he'd be able to do something truly amazing and big.
tl;dr: If you're already rich don't try to do things that you aren't genuinely passionate about, your subconscious will prevent you from doing what it takes to succeed that way. Stick to things you don't have to force yourself to do and are naturally good at.
This entire comment is predicated on the assumption that getting rich is the underlying reason entrepreneurs build businesses. I disagree with this assumption.
I believe the major assumption is actually that getting rich is the underlying reason entrepreneurs build businesses that they are not passionate about. Of course, "getting rich" could be something to be passionate about, but I don't think that precludes other sources of motivation.
1) Jason and Mahalo are over. Their new strategy is very expensive and a multi-year road before it's a real business. It's a total rewrite, not a pivot by any means, if they do it well. No way Calacanis lasts a few more years at Mahalo (even if the board doesn't push him out).
2) Calacanis isn't really in charge at Mahalo AFAIK. The employees all report to Jason Rapp. Rapp and the board probably made the decision to layoff, though Calacanis was probably involved. He's being allowed to save face and ego. His role is more of a spokesperson than a CEO.
I think Calacanis simply can't force himself to do what it takes to make Mahalo successful because he's already rich. He's referred to Mahalo as "freeroll" meaning that even if it fails he's still rich. That kind of attitude is fine for getting things you love done, but it doesn't work when you're trying to do something you're not innately passionate about. He doesn't have the hunger (nor would almost anyone) to make Mahalo the kind of success it needs to be to justify its investment.
Paul Graham has said many times that he wouldn't start another startup because it's just too painful and he knows he couldn't stomach it now that he doesn't have the incentive he did before (to get rich).
I don't think there's anything wrong with this. It's natural human behavior to respond to incentives. I think when Calacanis finally realizes (or admits) this he'll be a much happier (if ego-bruised) guy.
POSITIVE:
Calacanis is unbelievably awesome when he's doing things he's passion about. TWiST and LAUNCH are flawless. He's the target demographic for the content himself and it shows.
He should turn LAUNCH newsletter into a head-to-head blog competitor to TechCrunch. Combined with TWiST and LAUNCH conference it really could become as influential and big as TC is.
He's got a ton of talent and energy, but I think Mahalo really drags him down. If he removed that burden he'd be able to do something truly amazing and big.
tl;dr: If you're already rich don't try to do things that you aren't genuinely passionate about, your subconscious will prevent you from doing what it takes to succeed that way. Stick to things you don't have to force yourself to do and are naturally good at.