MyLackey.com
Encyclopedia
MyLackey.com was a Dot-com company
of the late 1990s, based in Seattle, Washington
, North America. It was in founded in April 1999 by Brendan Barnicle and Brian McGarvey, two former executives of another Internet
startup company
, eChange. Among the venture capital firms investing in MyLackey.com was WaldenVC, which provided $6.5M in second-round funding.
The company's business model involved arranging errands, such as car washing, dog-walking, shopping, and dry cleaning
, for "busy professionals". The errands were carried out by local businesses that had signed contracts with MyLackey. As part of the arrangement, contractors were required to wear MyLackey livery when they carried out a MyLackey order. The contractors agreed that MyLackey would give them a smaller portion of the revenue than they would have received from an independent order, in exchange for the extra business. The end customers were charged the standard going rate for a certain service, and MyLackey retained the difference. The company's primary geographical focus was Seattle and Portland, Oregon.
Co-founder Brendan Barnicle became briefly infamous in June 2000 after an internal memorandum was leaked to FuckedCompany. In the memo (entitled "THIS IS STILL A START-UP") Barnicle complained that "It is now 6:45 pm and there are only 12 people in our office. We have 65 people that work here in Seattle. This is totally unacceptable.". He furthermore went on to state that "until further notice, all employees are required to be at their desk from 8am until 7pm, with 30 minutes for lunch. There are no exceptions." A company spokesman subsequently denied that this final part of the memo was authentic.
The firm was a victim of the Dot-com bubble
fallout, and closed its doors on October 20, 2000, after 16 months of operation. At the time of its closure the company employed 85 people. As of 2006, Brendan Barnicle is vice president and senior research analyst of Pacific Crest Securities’ enterprise application software practice., whilst co-founder Brian McGarvey is vice president and general manager for Vivendi Games Mobile for North America and South America.
Dot-com company
A dot-com company, or simply a dot-com , is a company that does most of its business on the Internet, usually through a website that uses the popular top-level domain, ".com" .While the term can refer to present-day companies, it is also used specifically to refer to companies with...
of the late 1990s, based in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, North America. It was in founded in April 1999 by Brendan Barnicle and Brian McGarvey, two former executives of another Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
startup company
Startup company
A startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
, eChange. Among the venture capital firms investing in MyLackey.com was WaldenVC, which provided $6.5M in second-round funding.
The company's business model involved arranging errands, such as car washing, dog-walking, shopping, and dry cleaning
Dry cleaning
Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other than water. The solvent used is typically tetrachloroethylene , abbreviated "perc" in the industry and "dry-cleaning fluid" by the public...
, for "busy professionals". The errands were carried out by local businesses that had signed contracts with MyLackey. As part of the arrangement, contractors were required to wear MyLackey livery when they carried out a MyLackey order. The contractors agreed that MyLackey would give them a smaller portion of the revenue than they would have received from an independent order, in exchange for the extra business. The end customers were charged the standard going rate for a certain service, and MyLackey retained the difference. The company's primary geographical focus was Seattle and Portland, Oregon.
Co-founder Brendan Barnicle became briefly infamous in June 2000 after an internal memorandum was leaked to FuckedCompany. In the memo (entitled "THIS IS STILL A START-UP") Barnicle complained that "It is now 6:45 pm and there are only 12 people in our office. We have 65 people that work here in Seattle. This is totally unacceptable.". He furthermore went on to state that "until further notice, all employees are required to be at their desk from 8am until 7pm, with 30 minutes for lunch. There are no exceptions." A company spokesman subsequently denied that this final part of the memo was authentic.
The firm was a victim of the Dot-com bubble
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
fallout, and closed its doors on October 20, 2000, after 16 months of operation. At the time of its closure the company employed 85 people. As of 2006, Brendan Barnicle is vice president and senior research analyst of Pacific Crest Securities’ enterprise application software practice., whilst co-founder Brian McGarvey is vice president and general manager for Vivendi Games Mobile for North America and South America.