The big lesson from this whole Omnidrive saga is make sure you communicate openly with your Investors and customers. It is my understanding that Omnidrive is no longer, and I have not heard from Nik for months, plus I believe customers have not received any word either.
I wrote a blog post back in May 2008 regarding my concern with my investment in Nik Cubrilovic and Omnidrive at that time.
As of a few weeks ago it appears as though Omnidrive no longer exists and Nik is no where to be found.
As the major investor in Omnidrive I am stunned not to have received any information from Nik on what’s been happening over the last few months. I have emailed him a number of times, but have not had a single reply. The last I heard he was flying around the world, after launching Techcrunch IT, and also building the Techcrunch tablet for Michael Arrington.
Quick run down…
- The Omnidrive domain seems to have been sold (?) to Amnesty Financial Plus.
- Not sure what (if anything) has happened to the Omnidrive IP. Did Nik also sell the IP?
- There is a long list of creditors left behind.
- No word from Nik to investors or customers.
God it sounds like I am bitching, oh well, there goes USD$100k, so be it.
Lesson: Your investors are here to help you, keep them informed and you have a much higher likelihood of receiving help.
kimheras
October 16, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Wow Clay
Bitching? I’d actually say that’s pretty calm of you in light of the circumstances.
Best of luck with your other investments
K
jackie shervington
October 16, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Ouchhh. Good on you for sharing – only by making it public will others avoid such future fate. Such a shit for $100k to have been wasted – could have gone a long way to push along other initiatives. I guess you can take some comfort that you might have lost just us much on the stockmarket with recent devastation…not sure that helps.
Better luck next time
Larry Velez
October 16, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Wow, I can’t believe someone would just disappear like that.
It makes me feel like the investment community will begin to look at real businesses, that make real money, offering real value.
Over the years I have developed a respect for businesses that have a ‘solid’ sense to them and whose revenue stream is easy to understand without having to dive into complex assumptions. I think over time these solid investments and the investors who are disciplined enough to stay the course over time, will be the ones who are around to write books about their 50 years in the game.
Thomas Friedman’s latest column speaks about this also – http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/15/opinion/15friedman.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
good luck with your other investments.
SitePoint Blogs » Omnidrive Investors, Customers Officially Forgotten?
October 17, 2008 at 2:43 am
[...] owners?) and there is no trace of the service that was once so promising. Today, Clay Cook put a final nail in the Omnidrive coffin by posting on his blog that it was his “understanding that Omnidrive is no longer, and I have [...]
Omnidrive Investors, Customers Officially Forgotten? | BiggestLobster.com
October 17, 2008 at 3:04 am
[...] was once so promising. Today, Clay Cook put a final nail in the Omnidrive coff&#… by posting on his blog that it [...]
Steve Sammartino
October 21, 2008 at 5:22 am
You’re definitely not bitching Clay. Also a gutsy effort to have such candor. Kudos.
Also – I can never understand why entrepreneurs don’t leverage the skills of their investors. In my view the skills are more important than the money, yet often, they seem to have the reverse perspective.
Steve.
Best Web Apps of 2005 - Where are they now?
October 21, 2008 at 10:23 pm
[...] Status: Dead, officially. A recent post by Clay Cook, one of OmniDrives main investors sheds light on some of the story: Nik Cubrilovic Omnidrive lesson . [...]
Dr. Otto VanDerWahl
October 23, 2008 at 10:50 am
I join you in outrage! I had many files on Nik servar and now they are all his. I am very much disappoint.
Clay Cook
October 29, 2008 at 10:57 am
yes $100k is a bit to lose, and I would have preferred to have placed it elsewhere, but you live and learn i guess.
Clay Cook
October 29, 2008 at 11:05 am
@steve – thanks for the comments. and yes most times the skills are more important than the money… or that’s the money you should be taking if you are an entrepreneur anyway. i certainly made it clear that ours was a fairly passive investment as we have too many other business interests, however this does not mean ‘don’t contact me if you have issues and need help/advice’.
@larry – couldn’t agree with you more. time is a massive factor in most people’s success. stick at it and work hard and the majority of your close competition will drop off.
@Dr. Otto – sorry to hear about that. unfortunately a lot of people were effected.
@kim – thanks for the luck. some of them are gonna need it! others will get there through having a great team and working long and hard.
Did TechCrunchIT Co-Editor Nik Cubrilovic Rip Off His Omnidrive Investors? : The Drama 2.0 Show
November 13, 2008 at 12:17 am
[...] offers cash advances to those in need of money (Silicon Valley’s newly unemployed?). And Cook published another blog post with an update on his saga: As of a few weeks ago it appears as though [...]
Lloyd Budd
July 20, 2009 at 1:47 am
Maybe the other lesson is that if you go offline for a while, everyone will forget.
I was surprised to see that him as the author of http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/19/the-anatomy-of-the-twitter-attack/ . I hope everything is well with him, and everything was resolved as best it could be.
Vaso
July 20, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Clay, I know Nik and he has not only lost your money but that of his parents, they lost their home and all assets. Now in there old age approaching retirement they should be enjoying life instead they are in rented premises. And for Nik no remorse, what is he up to, borrowed money and off to Vegas to win World Series Poker…What a loser!!!
Clay Cook
August 9, 2009 at 1:27 pm
@Vaso – Thanks for your comments. I am sorry to hear about Nik’s parents. Someone else has told very me very similar information which is just so sad. I hope for their sake Nik can make amends.
Ned Dwyer
January 12, 2010 at 8:18 am
Hi Clay,
I saw your tweet about Orgoo. Any plans to do a post about your experience there?
Also keen to hear about your positive experiences investing in Australian startups!
Cheers,
Ned