hackoff.com: Recent Episodes
Tom Evslin
In this podiobook: Larry Lazard, CEO of hackoff.com, takes his company public and watches its stock price soar and collapse. Following a hostile takeover attempt, Lazard is found dead in his office of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.Author Tom Evslin, a serial CEO, also took a company public in the Internet bubble and fought off hostile takeover attempts in the subsequent rubble. Unlike Larry, Evslin lived to tell what may be the definitive story of those strange times.The mystery moves backwards and forwards around the time of Larry's death. Sex, power, money, farce, and tragedy mix in boardrooms and bedrooms, the parties of the World Economic Forum in Davos, and the smoky stairway of the South Tower of the World Trade Center.hackoff.com - not a porn site - provides anti-hacker protection for e-commerce. Larry Lazard started the business after his release from prison to which he was sentenced for a confessed hacker attack on banks.The folks at hackoff track the company's stock price with fatal fascination; an online chat board provides a Greek chorus of contradictory explanations and expectations; analysts spin golden fantasies from websites and eyeballs; traders conjure real fortunes at their trading desks; and everyone who can clamors for "friends and family" stock.hackoff.com's characters include CFO Donna Langhorne, Larry's ex-lover and classmate from Harvard Business School and a former swimsuit model; Chief Technical Officer Dom Montain, who dropped out of Caltech to write video games; Detective Mark Cohen, NYPD, who's investigating Larry's death; Larry's wife Louise, who is certain her husband was murdered; and Ahmed Qali, who represents a group of Palestinian programmers in Jenin to which hackoff out-sources work. Along with the bankers, CEOs, and CFOs of dotcom America, are eavesdropping limo drivers and waiters, venture capitalists, hackers, terrorists, and the victims and heroes of 9/11.If you've ever wanted to be a fly on the wall of the boardrooms, private jets, and ornate meeting rooms of brokerage firms, hackoff.com gives you your chance. You'll be better prepared for the next bubble if you read this book but that's not why you'll eagerly download each online episode. You'll do that because the cleverly woven mystery will have you dying to know whodunit.
Endgame 4/5-4/7/03: We hear the audio of Ahmed returning the Lucite to Larry and giving him the good news about Yasir. But the meeting doesn't end well.
Endgame 4/5-4/7/03: Donna Langhorne and her husband Francis are overheard hatching a new plan.
Endgame 4/5-4/7/03: Details of hackoff.com's defense against the antihack hostile takeover attempt emerge from Dom's audio.
Endgame 4/5-4/7/03: There is a surprising revelation about Gotcha, the hack that Larry went to jail for.
Endgame 4/5-4/7/03: Dom has to go through a very tight place to get back into his comfort zone.
Endgame 4/5-4/7/03: Dom's international communication continues - but his local communication is suddenly disrupted.
Endgame 4/5-4/7/03: Dom hacks deep into the night. A search engine of his own invention sees site that Google will never see.
You've Got Mail 4/4/03 PM: Detective Cohen and Rachel discuss the video of Ahmed's visit to Larry and Larry's very strange reaction to what should have been good news.
You've Got Mail 4/4/03 PM: Detective Mark Cohen and Rachel Roth meet in a midtown fern bar.
You've Got Mail 4/4/03 PM: Detective Cohen and Donna Langhorne watch a video together but have a falling out.
You've Got Mail 4/4/03 PM: Donna has an extraordinary piece of evidence she now feels she needs to show to Detective Cohen.
You've Got Mail 4/4/03 PM: Now it's Donna Langhorne's turn to discuss VoIP with Detective Mark Cohen.
You've Got Mail 4/4/03 PM: Detective Cohen and Dom Montain's discussion switches from backdoors to VoIP.
Ahmed's Business 4/4/03 AM: Ahmed Qali explains to Detective Cohen why his fingerprints are on the gun found in Larry's office. Their interview concludes.
Ahmed's Business 4/4/03 AM: Ahmed Qali describes his last meeting with Larry Lazard. Detective Cohen doesn't believe him.
Ahmed's Business 4/4/03 AM: Detective Cohen's interview of Ahmed Qali continues with an examination of Qali's past and current business.
Ahmed's Business 4/4/03 AM: Detective Cohen's interview of Ahmed Qali continues with an examination of Ahmed's personal history.
In Play, 2/26 - 5/28/02: hackoff.com makes plans to outsource to Jenin Associates - not without some concerns.
In Play, 2/26 - 5/28/02: Dom describes his meetings with Microsoft and Oracle as potential acquirers of hackoff.com.
In Play, 2/26 - 5/28/02: Larry and Louise have dinner with banker Rachel and her boyfriend Ahmed.
In Play, 2/26 - 5/28/02: hackoff.com and bankers Barcourt and Brotherson prepare to examine "strategic alternatives".
Bear Hug, 2/19 - 2/25/02: The hackoff.com board considers George Wrobly's takeover proposal.
Bear Hug, 2/19 - 2/25/02: Larry gets a call from antihack CEO George Wrobly with a proposal.
Bear Hug, 2/19 - 2/25/02: hackoff.com prepares to announce disappointing quarterly results.
9/11/01 - The Half Life of Surprise: Larry and Dom are in the crowded stairwells of the south tower.
9/11/01 - The Half Life of Surprise: FAA:Hi. Boston Center TMU, we have a problem here.
9/11/01 - The Half Life of Surprise: As oblivious as most of the rest of the world is to events in American skies, the bankers present their Power Point slides showing SWOTs (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) of both hackoff and antihack.
9/11/01 - The Half Life of Surprise: Bankers have a proposal for hackoff.com and antihack. American Flight 11 from Boston is hijacked.
9/11/01 - The Half Life of Surprise: The world goes about its business early on the morning of 9/11. The hackoff.com management team is on their way to a meeting in the World Trade Center.
The Fall, 4/1 - 6/30/00: Larry, Donna, and Aaron discuss how to deal with the "possibility" of a weak quarter. The chat group has the last word in the last episode of chapter 9.
The Fall, 4/1 - 6/30/00: Dom has a new product idea... even if the latest updates to the old one are late.
The Fall, 4/1 - 6/30/00: Larry gets bad news at a hackoff staff meeting and reacts... badly.
The Fall, 4/1 - 6/30/00: Donna and her husband have a serious discussion about the charges his firm bought against her company.
The Fall, 4/1 - 6/30/00: hackoff.com is hit with a class action suit. Find out why this makes Donna Langhorne particularly angry in this episode.
The Fall, 4/1 - 6/30/00: Joanne Ankers' career is in danger and Joseph Windaw takes defensive action.
The Fall, 4/1 - 6/30/00: NASDAQ seems to be in freefall. Larry waits for the (green) shoe to drop.
The Fall, 4/1 - 6/30/00: Aunt Hattie, who works at Merrill Lynch, doesn't think the Lazards are managing their new-found liquidity very well.
Vaginata 4/2/03: Detective Cohen's interview of Lousie Lazard concludes with her descrition of her "investigation."
Vaginata 4/2/03: As Detective Cohen's interview of Louise continues, she talks about their friends' reaction to the Lazard's new-found wealth and how the friends dealt with their own "friends-and-family" stock.
Vaginata 4/2/03: Detective Cohen's interview of Louise Lazard continues in the second episode of Chapter 8. It appears he doesn't understand women well.
The Secondary, 2/3 - 3/28/00: Larry and Rachel fly back to NJ in the corporate jet. Louise and Ahmed meet them at the airport.
The Secondary, 2/3 - 3/28/00: The roadshow is all over but the pricing. The hackoff.com board meets by phone.
The Secondary, 2/3 - 3/28/00: Larry and Donna discuss strategy for improving quarterly results. Frank Folger tries to help with some email.
The Secondary, 2/3 - 3/28/00: Larry and Donna have an uneasy conference call with Frank Folger about prospects for the quarter.
The Secondary, 2/3 - 3/28/00: Larry and Donna take the hackoff.com secondary roadshow to Texas where they meet - and answer - some skepticism.
The Secondary, 2/3 - 3/28/00: A storm has closed Boston's Logan Airport. But Larry and Donna need to get from there to New York for an important breakfast presentation. Larry takes executive action.
The Secondary, 2/3 - 3/28/00: Larry and Donna are on the roadshow for the hackoff.com secondary and are back at Semper talking to Tom Chen. The atmosphere is different than it was during the IPO.
The Secondary, 2/3 - 3/28/00: Larry wants the iHudson deal closed before the roadshow for the secondary. Frank Folger says it'll happen.
The Secondary, 2/3 - 3/28/00: There's action in the stock of both hackoff.com and Big Router.
The Secondary, 2/3 - 3/28/00: Negotiations between Larry and his VCs over who sells what in the secondary are close to breakdown. In the podcast version, Larry Lazard is played by Matt Blumberg, Louise Lazard by Kelly Evans, Joseph Windaw by Brad Feld, Joanne Ankers by Stephanie
The Secondary, 2/3 - 3/28/00: In episode 2 of chapter 7, Larry negotiates hard with his VC board members over who gets to sell how many shares in the secondary. In the podcast version, Larry Lazard is played by Matt Blumberg, Joseph Windaw by Brad Feld, Joanne Ankers by Stephanie
The Secondary, 2/3 - 3/28/00: In the first episode of chapter 7, Louise and Larry Lazard are flying home from Davos on the Concorde discussing a secondary offering of hackoff.com stock - their personal liquidity event.
Davos, 1/26 - 2/1/00: In the final episode of Chapter 6 and the final day at Davos, Larry feels benign.
Davos, 1/26 - 2/1/00: Larry meets with Mahmud Assan about outsourcing work to the Palestinians.
Davos, 1/26 - 2/1/00: Chapter 6 continues with national party night at Davos. Larry and Lousie and their new friends the Rostovs wander from Mauritius through France and the US in their quest for the fabled Russian party.
Davos, 1/26 - 2/1/00: It's the night of the big dinners at Davos. Larry antagonizes some accountants and learns about telecom capacity swaps.
Davos, 1/26 - 2/1/00: Larry does a live TV interview from Davos and the chat group chats about it.
Davos, 1/26 - 2/1/00: Larry leads a luncheon seminar on corporate governance at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The European and American views differ. Israel agree with the US.
Dom's Game 4/1/03: Donna chairs her first staff meeting as CEO. It is clear that things will be different than they were when Larry was running the show.
Dom's Game 4/1/03: Detective Cohen continues his interview with Dom Montain. He is particularly interested in what happened after a stormy staff meeting on the day Larry died.
Dom's Game 4/1/03: In the first episode of Chapter 5, Detective Mark Cohen begins his interview of hackoff.com CTO and super-hacker Dom Montain.
The IPO,5/29 - 5/30/99: The chat group and Larry's wife Louise both comment on his TV appearance - in very different ways.
The IPO,5/29 - 5/30/99: Against the wishes of Barcourt and the advice of his lawyer, Larry risks an appearance on CNNfn's "Meet the Money.
The IPO,5/29 - 5/30/99: Now that hackoff.com is public, it has a chat board. They chat. And Larry is greeted as hero back in the office.
The IPO,5/29 - 5/30/99: hackoff.com (NASDAQ:HOFC) is public! Larry watches trading begin on the Barcourt trading floor.
The IPO,5/29 - 5/30/99: Larry bargains with both his Board and the bankers over the price at which hackoff will come public.
The Roadshow, 5/99: On the private jet going from Boston to Ft. Worth, the team discusses the Semper pitch and the order which followed. In Ft. Worth, Larry and Donna relive some of their b-school days.
The Roadshow, 5/99: The roadshow team is at Semper Investments in Boston for the all-important pitch to fund manager Tom Chen.
The Roadshow, June 1999: The roadshow team is en route via Concorde from London to New York forthe US portion of the trip. "Friends and family" stock are on their minds.
The Roadshow, June 1999: The team flies to Geneva where the roadshow will begin. Donna and Rachelhave an uncomfortable drink.
The Roadshow, June 1999: The hackoff.com team and their bankers prepare for the roadshow leadingto the hackoff IPO. Larry has a loud showdown with the bankers over costs.
The Beauty Contest, Feb. 1999: At RR Donnelly the draft prospectus (red herring) is finalized andtransmitted to the SEC, a key step in going public. Board members JosephWindaw and Joanne Ankers find some privacy at the harvard Club.
The Beauty Contest, Feb. 1999: On the phone and in email, hackoff.com executives and Board membersdiscuss the possible choice of Barcourt and Brotherson to lead the bankerteam for the hackoff IPO
The Beauty Contest, Feb. 1999: Bankers from Barcourt and Brotherson pitch Larry and Donna on why their bank should be selected to lead the hackoff.com IPO. Larry is rude.
The Beauty Contest, Feb. 1999: The hackoff.com Board of Directors discusses the possibility of going public.
Morning April Fool's Day 2003: The interview of Donna Langhorne by Detective Cohen continues. She tells about the last time she saw Larry alive and gives her alibi for the time of his death. Terry White is the guest star playing Donna in the audio of this episode.
Morning April Fool's Day 2003: NYPD detective Mark Cohen begins his interview with hackoff.com CFO Donna Langhorne. Terry White is the guest star playing Donna in the audio of this episode.
Morning April Fool's Day 2003: hackoff.com CEO Larry Lazard is found dead in his office of a gunshot would. The press release is on the wire and the chat group is chatting. Trading in hackoff.com stock (hofc) is, however,expected to resume shortly.