I am proud to announce that I will be the new investor for EWA!
On a serious note, this is still a hit to the industry because it just goes to show you how quickly things do change. Practically two years ago EWA was on top of their game, and they were well regarded. I developed many great relationships thanks to Ryan, and because EWA's name was worth something back then. To see things crumble so quickly really does show us all how much more this industry needs to mature.
In the last three years we have lost Copeac, Azoogle and now EWA. All three networks at some point were highly trusted, and in Azoogle's case, they had an actual office building with dozens of employees, but that didn't stop them from fading away. Heck, I remember during one ASE when Azoogle's booth was the first one I saw when I walked into the room. Literally the very next year they had a booth that was 1/3 the size, and all the way in the back. At the same time, Copeac didn't even have a booth anymore. All of this leads me to believe that this might have to do less with the actual founder of the company, but more about the inner workings; etc - the advertisers that are being dealt with, the affiliates that are being accepted, the payment risk being floated.
Lets not forget that the only reason why Ryan caught his fame and made EWA into something was strictly because of his persona. When he first came here on WF he was ridiculed for the way he acted, but after proving himself a couple times, he earned lots of our respect. Should he have possibly changed his persona along the way once EWA was on its feet? Probably so, but it doesn't help when many of the new applicants into this industry are young folks who eat up all this extravagant shit.
I know you will be reading this Ryan, and while you and me are on good terms, I honestly believe that if you want to have a fact left in this industry then many affiliates will be counting on you to liquidate all your sizable assets.
