Online auction firm Nancy Kruse + Partners went the way of many earlier Internet-based ventures last week, laying off its staff of more than 20 and ceasing operations Feb. 9 [2005].
The Washington, D.C., firm, which coordinated last fall’s national NPR auction, began doing online auctions with Washington’s WAMU in September 2002. It had roughly 15 stations as clients.
Kruse said low station fees and staff fatigue factored into her decision to shut down. “At some point, you just decide that you’re not going further into debt.”
She declined to discuss financial details or whether client stations may
lose money paid toward future auctions.
The company was moving forward and planning future projects as recently as
Feb. 7, Kruse said later that week. But employees had been complaining
about missing
paychecks for several weeks, according to a former staffer who declined to
be named. Consultant Nathan Sterner says he wasn’t paid for his work
between July and November.
Kruse says she hasn’t been notified of any impending legal action by former employees but claims the company has no assets that a plaintiff could recover. She lost more than $400,000 of her own funds and members of her family collectively lost even more, she says.
Even so, Kruse believes in a future for online auctions. “In terms of unearthing major donors and demonstrating how stations can work together, this experience has been great,” she says. “The bidders are there,” she adds. “Even today, as we were packing the boxes, we were getting calls from people who were thrilled to participate.”
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posted Feb. 21, 2005
Copyright 2005 by Current Publishing Committee