Radian6: Co-founders say buyout a sweet deal for employees

By Quentin Casey – Telegraph Journal | link to original article

Life is about to change profoundly for a good number of Radian6's 350 employees.

The company's multi-million-dollar buyout by a San Francisco tech company will likely be finalized early next week. When the deal closes, millionaires will be made and the financial prospects of dozens of Radian6 employees will change dramatically.

« All of our employees have options in the company, so lots of people are getting handsome cheques when this finally closes, » said Radian6 co-founder and chief technology officer Chris Newton in a recent interview.

« In a lot of cases (this will) reset their life – pay off the student loans, pay off the car, take off a big chunk of the mortgage. And we're talking about a lot of people too, not five or six, » continued the 38-year-old, who hails from Miramichi. « There's going to be a lot of people making a lot of money off the deal. It's a nice distribution of wealth across the company. »

Newton's co-founder, Chris Ramsey, concurs.

« Financially, this affects every single person in the company in some way, shape or form, » said the company's executive vice-president of business development. « Every single employee has options that are either worth something on the day of the deal, or will grow in worth starting immediately after the deal is closed. »

Newton and Ramsey, however, will likely be the two biggest beneficiaries of the massive buyout.

Announced March 30, the deal will see Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) buy Fredericton-based Radian6 for $276 million in cash and $50 million in stock. In addition, about $10 million in stock and $4 million in cash will be issued to the company founders. Radian6 won't say who is included on its list of founders, but it's clear Newton and Ramsey will become millionaires in one fell swoop.

« I'm not going to deny it. Yeah absolutely, » Newton said. « But we're not talking about how much…Both of us are very happy with the outcome. »

More than 2,400 clients – including giants like General Electric, Kodak and Molson Coors – now use Radian6's technology to track what is being said about them online.

By monitoring online conversations, on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, Radian6 can determine how companies and their brands are being discussed in cyberspace.

And as Radian6's growth proves, it's key technology for companies looking to guard their reputation online.

At the end of 2007, shortly after launching its technology, Radian6 had fewer than 10 clients.

Roughly 300 companies signed on in 2008, and another 1,000 clients jumped on board in 2009. « We've definitively had episodes along the way where big companies have pushed the system to the limit, » Ramsey said. « But our team has been able to deliver time and time again. »

Ramsey, who previously worked for Microsoft, says he's « astounded » by how far Radian6 has travelled since its initial days, when he and Newton discussed their plans over coffee at a Fredericton Tim Hortons.

Both knew an eventual buyout was possible, but their focus was solely dedicated to the « adventure » of building the company, the 41-year-old said.

« When you're sitting in Tim Hortons, you're not thinking about exiting this thing for millions of dollars. »