Early Employees: Eva Ho & Applied Semantics
March 13, 2013
A series of conversations with early employees of iconic tech companies.
If you have recommendations for future interviews, tweet them to me via@hunterwalk.
Eva and I worked together for several years at Google. When people think of Google’s largest acquisitions they discuss YouTube, Doubleclick and Motorola, but for many years, Applied Semantics was one of the most significant if not most discussed. Applied Semantics – in both team and technology – helped accelerate the AdSense product, one which today delivers billions of dollars in revenue to Google.
Eva Ho, Applied Semantics (@eva_ho)
Q: How many people were at Oingo/Applied Semantics when you started
and how did you get connected with the early team?
A: There were under 20 people (forgotten the exact number) and I learned from a friend that this company called Oingo was hiring a Director of Marketing. I met with Gil and Adam -- we bonded over the love of running, and little did I know that I would still be working with one of them almost 15 years later.
Q: What was your initial role at Applied Semantics and how'd this change over time?
A: I was hired as the Director of Marketing but like most small companies, I served as a generalist. At one time, I was actually acting CEO for a few months, sitting in our one and only big fancy office. In the 3 years I was there pre-Google, I was part of the executive team who weighed in on a little bit of everything from Product, Operations, HR to BD. However, the role I played best was probably team therapist, alongside my wonderful head of HR, Meg Thomas.
Q: What was your most meaningful contribution(s) to Applied Semantics success?
A: Well, when I joined, the company was called Oingo, the meaning-based search engine. I was responsible for re-branding the company, positioning and packaging our products, customer targeting/segmentation, and building the enterprise-side of the business. While I led marketing and some of the strategic planning, I was most passionate about enterprise search and worked hard to define and drive that business. I remember how exciting it was when we closed our first enterprise customer in USAToday.
Q: Did you have any traditions or rituals that helped define Applied Semantics culture?
A: We were your typical young, hot-headed, dysfunctional family who were simultaneously drawn and repelled by each other. What I remember the most was spending time as a group on the weekends at the beach, playing volleyball, hanging at Meg's house. I wouldn't call them traditions per say, but certainly, we loved each other's company (most of the time) and our work and play lives were completely intertwined.
Q: How did you find out about the Google acquisition? Were you involved in the discussions or heard once the deal was closed? What was your reaction?
A: The executive team was small, so I knew about the discussion very early on. I was involved in pulling together the decks and necessary materials, but not in any of the verbal negotiations.
We were courted by a few folks, but once Google was in play, all went very quickly and smoothly. I remember coming in to work one day and Sergey was in our kitchen, hanging out by himself. I walked over and we struck up a conversation. I remembered how nice and humble he was -- and thinking to myself how cool it would be to work for/with him. It all went so quickly that I didn't have much time to process any of it. Before I knew it, we were at the Google campus being announced at the Friday All Hands. It was certainly exciting times and Google made us feel so welcomed and included.
Q: How many of the Applied Semantics team are now at Factual? What are some other alumni doing?
A: We have quite a few Google folks at Factual, but only Gil and I are true ASI alums. Irene Kim was with us for awhile until she moved to Vegas to be with her family. Eytan Elbaz founded a few companies including Scopely. Jason Liebman is CEO and founder of Howcast. Adam Weissman is happily retired with a wife and three kids in Portola Valley. Chris Daniels is a Director of BD at Facebook. Meg Thomas (Crosby) founded her own HR consultancy in Memphis and sits on the board of a few non-profits.
Did you enjoy this interview? Read more:
Post 1: Dave Shen/Yahoo
Post 2: Michael Dearing/eBay
Post 3: Craig Donato/Excite
Post 4: Stewart Bonn/Electronic Arts
Post 5: Paul McNamara/RedHat
Post 6: Jason Kincaid/TechCrunch
Post 7: Jason Shellen/Blogger
Post 8: Bob Poniatowski/TiVo
Follow me @hunterwalk
Eva and I worked together for several years at Google. When people think of Google’s largest acquisitions they discuss YouTube, Doubleclick and Motorola, but for many years, Applied Semantics was one of the most significant if not most discussed. Applied Semantics – in both team and technology – helped accelerate the AdSense product, one which today delivers billions of dollars in revenue to Google.
Eva Ho, Applied Semantics (@eva_ho)A: There were under 20 people (forgotten the exact number) and I learned from a friend that this company called Oingo was hiring a Director of Marketing. I met with Gil and Adam -- we bonded over the love of running, and little did I know that I would still be working with one of them almost 15 years later.
Q: What was your initial role at Applied Semantics and how'd this change over time?
A: I was hired as the Director of Marketing but like most small companies, I served as a generalist. At one time, I was actually acting CEO for a few months, sitting in our one and only big fancy office. In the 3 years I was there pre-Google, I was part of the executive team who weighed in on a little bit of everything from Product, Operations, HR to BD. However, the role I played best was probably team therapist, alongside my wonderful head of HR, Meg Thomas.
Q: What was your most meaningful contribution(s) to Applied Semantics success?
A: Well, when I joined, the company was called Oingo, the meaning-based search engine. I was responsible for re-branding the company, positioning and packaging our products, customer targeting/segmentation, and building the enterprise-side of the business. While I led marketing and some of the strategic planning, I was most passionate about enterprise search and worked hard to define and drive that business. I remember how exciting it was when we closed our first enterprise customer in USAToday.
Q: Did you have any traditions or rituals that helped define Applied Semantics culture?
A: We were your typical young, hot-headed, dysfunctional family who were simultaneously drawn and repelled by each other. What I remember the most was spending time as a group on the weekends at the beach, playing volleyball, hanging at Meg's house. I wouldn't call them traditions per say, but certainly, we loved each other's company (most of the time) and our work and play lives were completely intertwined.
Q: How did you find out about the Google acquisition? Were you involved in the discussions or heard once the deal was closed? What was your reaction?
A: The executive team was small, so I knew about the discussion very early on. I was involved in pulling together the decks and necessary materials, but not in any of the verbal negotiations.
We were courted by a few folks, but once Google was in play, all went very quickly and smoothly. I remember coming in to work one day and Sergey was in our kitchen, hanging out by himself. I walked over and we struck up a conversation. I remembered how nice and humble he was -- and thinking to myself how cool it would be to work for/with him. It all went so quickly that I didn't have much time to process any of it. Before I knew it, we were at the Google campus being announced at the Friday All Hands. It was certainly exciting times and Google made us feel so welcomed and included.
Q: How many of the Applied Semantics team are now at Factual? What are some other alumni doing?
A: We have quite a few Google folks at Factual, but only Gil and I are true ASI alums. Irene Kim was with us for awhile until she moved to Vegas to be with her family. Eytan Elbaz founded a few companies including Scopely. Jason Liebman is CEO and founder of Howcast. Adam Weissman is happily retired with a wife and three kids in Portola Valley. Chris Daniels is a Director of BD at Facebook. Meg Thomas (Crosby) founded her own HR consultancy in Memphis and sits on the board of a few non-profits.
Did you enjoy this interview? Read more:
Post 1: Dave Shen/Yahoo
Post 2: Michael Dearing/eBay
Post 3: Craig Donato/Excite
Post 4: Stewart Bonn/Electronic Arts
Post 5: Paul McNamara/RedHat
Post 6: Jason Kincaid/TechCrunch
Post 7: Jason Shellen/Blogger
Post 8: Bob Poniatowski/TiVo
Follow me @hunterwalk
People who read this post also read:
1-4 of 20
The 12 month loans no credit check direct lender offer perfect solutions to all such cash needs. The lenders of these loans offer cash relief right at your doorstep.
ReplyDelete24 month installment loans bad credit
30 day loans no credit check
quick loans for 60 days
1 year long term loans