Alec Saunders SquawkBox

Although the Vonage IPO has been panned, a couple of folks have chosen instead to speak about Jeff Pulver, the original founder of Vonage, and what might have been.

Andy Abramson writes:

Back in the day when Jeff Pulver was involved with Vonage, before his role was so diminished that he was nothing more than a shareholder, Vonage had someone who saw what was about to occur and was in a position to help. Jeff, who started on Wall Street, could have helped them steer the right course of being different, especially over the past three years, but instead Vonage’s management went their own ways and basically have not changed one thing in the service offering of any note since their launch. Telephone service that comes over broadband.

Andy’s view is that the street’s reaction to the Vonage IPO is an indictment of their management, and their current strategy.  He thinks Jeff could have steered them in a different direction.  I think it might have included some purple minutes…

Similarly, Alan Meckler writes about first meeting Jeff, without passing any judgement on the IPO.  Meckler says:

I am returning on an airplane from spring Internet World 1996 in San Jose and this guy Jeff Pulver sits next to me. He had been at Internet World. Before long he starts to tell me about what is going to happen with VOIP. I sit in wonderment and think: “This is an interesting fellow.”

Alan finishes with “I sure am glad to have met Jeff Pulver”.  I think that goes for a lot of us. Cheers Jeff!