The road of good intentions is paved with hell. And so it goes for PGP Inc., a privacy-protecting start-up that's hit a bump in the IPO freeway after racing off to an impressive launch.
"We were spending money too fast," says Phil Zimmermann, who leveraged his PGP freeware to found the company in 1996. Damage includes a failed acquisition, a round of layoffs, a lawsuit, and a major reorganization. The salient features of the shuffle were dismissal of president and CEO Tom Steding and Zimmermann's demotion from chair to board member.
But PGP has wasted no time getting back on track. Its product line, including mail encryption, crypto kits, and certificate systems, is off to an impressive start with an alliance to build its technology into the Eudora email program.
"We're in a period of mourning," says marketing vice president Linda Hayes. "But we did what we had to do to survive."
ELECTRIC WORD
If They Come, We Will Build It
Reed Hundt: The Next Five Years
PGP's Growing Pains
