Pros
Being a part of something that was important to the community, unique in the creative space, and wanted by our users. Patch was one of the best working experiences I have ever had. I was given all the tools to succeed. Like any sales job, it required going out and putting effort into it, which I did. For that I was handsomely rewarded. The content we were bringing the community was relevant and needed. I would often be welcomed into businesses with open arms. The company was generous with paying expenses, providing us with the appropriate technology to do our jobs (I.E. Ipad, Laptop, iphone) Promotion was definitely possible. I started with Patch as junior ad executive and within 12 months was promoted to Regional Publisher of the Philadelphia and South Jersey Market. The email newsletter product was very successful for the right business
Cons
At the time I was employed, AOL had expanded to far to fast. In the northeast corridor, we were doing fine because you would have 50-60 Patch sites clustered together very closely, it made delivering multi-site programs much easier. In Iowa...you have 9 sites across the state and 3 hours distance between them. It was bad planning on AOL's part. AOL spent way too much money on friviolous expenses. I watched them throw away thousands of dollars on parties and events that really didn't drive the business forward. As a start up, we should have been operating on a lean budget, but everyone was spending like crazy. Making $150,000 and only $200,000 doesn't make sense. Ad units could have been so much better...we NEEDED a retargeting product, we needed a geo-fencing product, we needed more targeted delivery products...4 static banners and a newsletter was tough too sell. I would be sold out on many of my sites would have to sell into other peoples territory