Jay Love, the founder and CEO of eTapestry (and before that, of Master Software), is leaving Blackbaud to become CEO of Social Solutions:
http://www.nptimes.com/10June/news-100608-2.html
I spoke with Jay yesterday and he says that Blackbaud is committed to etapestry and will continue to invest in the product. Time will tell.
Very interesting, Robert. This is highly unusual for Blackbaud to let someone at this level leave so quickly after purchasing the software. They still have some founders chained to their desks via non-compete agreements that were signed years ago.
This leads me to believe Jay Love is exceptional at negotiating (his escape clause) and that he is not excited about the direction of eTap at Blackbaud. I still believe the product serves a segment of the market that Blackbaud needs, but that’s just my humble opinion. As you say, it will be interesting to watch this as it develops.
LLK
Since selling eTapestry to Blackbaud wasn’t the first time he sold a company to Blackbaud (I still miss FundMaster) he likely knew what to expect with a Blackbaud escape clause. That said he’s going to a company that I could see Blackbaud trying to purchase in the future. Congrats Jay!