Mike Arrington announced yesterday at Techcrunch Disrupt that he is leaving Techcrunch and AOL. Mike thanked everyone for their support and quickly moved to put the focus back on startups and the conference. Class act. Mike has done more for the startup community than anyone else. Loic Le Meur wrote a great post about the real Mike Arrington today. Here is mine.
Mike helped me when I was laid off from Microsoft. I will never forget it. Mike was the first person to call me after I was laid off. He called as a friend, not as a reporter looking for a story. But, he did write a story, and it changed everything for me. That call from Mike meant the world to me. Thank you Mike. Mike has a huge heart, great sense of humor, and is intensely loyal. Mike changed the tech world, and I think he will change the VC world too. Think back 6 or 7 years ago, before Techcrunch, before Facebook, before Zynga. It was a very different world...kind of boring. Techcrunch brought focus and attention to startups, and made it interesting again.
Mike worked 20 hours a day, 7 days a week, to build Techcrunch. He loved his work and it showed. Mike attracted a talented team of writers and expanded far beyond just a blog. A few years ago he started Techcrunch TV to cover more startups and do more in depth, personal interviews.
Mike started TC40 with Jason Calacanis to give a bigger better platform for startups to launch their companies. They wanted to make it FREE for startups to present, and keep the focus totally on new startups. Mike went on to form Techcrunch Disrupt, a new conference with interviews of great entrepreneurs, VCs, and tech execs, and of course, lots of startups. Mike took TC Disrupt to New York and helped revitalize the NYC startup market. This year there will be a TC Disrupt in Beijing. The world wants more Techcrunch. It helps energize the startup community, and it puts the spotlight on entrepreneurs.
Techcrunch will not be the same without Mike Arrington. I hope he continues to write a blog to share his insights, humor, and curiosity. Mike should be very proud of what he created at Techcrunch, and the team he built. Techcrunch will live on as his legacy. One of his legacies.
The Venture Capital community should brace themselves for disruption. Mike Arrington will change the VC world too, and that is probably a good thing.
Thank you Mike, and good luck to you!
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