Minutes after CEO Carlos Watson told Ozy Media staffers that the board was shutting down the company on Oct. 1, all of its internal channels went dark.
Reporters’ interview notes in Google Drive disappeared. Producers’ work was no longer accessible. The emails, notes, Slack messages, and documents from the upstart media company’s eight-year run were suddenly, and instantly, gone.
So it came as a shock when, three days later, an upbeat Watson emerged on the Today Show with an announcement: He was relaunching Ozy with its one remaining board member, Michael Moe of GSV Asset Management. Later that day, Watson sent an email to Ozy’s now-jobless employees’ personal inboxes with a rare apology and a five-part plan of action.
At that moment Ozy was facing a litany of issues, including a possible investigation from the FBI; a lawsuit alleging “fraudulent, deceptive, and illegal conduct”; and an admission that one of its executives, Samir Rao, had impersonated a YouTube executive on a call with Goldman Sachs. The entire board save one member had quit, and the company was also facing allegations that data describing its subscriptions, events, and audience had been exaggerated.
Yet Watson had a simple ask: Come back.
