And his big fat mouth — Bob Parsons

Bob Parsons couldn’t keep his mouth shut; just one of the reasons GoDaddy’s IPO failed.

GoDaddy’s boss Bob Parsons likes to speak his mind. Although he’s done a great job growing GoDaddy, I’ve often stated he wouldn’t make a good public firm CEO. He’s the type of guy who would chew out analysts on a phone call and blame short sellers for all of his firm’s problems (ala Overstock.com).

In fact, back in April, I wrote:

It will be interesting to see how the firm changes during this process. GoDaddy President Bob Parsons is not one to keep his lips sealed but will have to do so during the so-called “quiet period”. Parsons might also find himself in a position where he needs to keep his political views separate from the firm. His blog has featured stories regarding divisive issues like torture.

When GoDaddy filed its S-1 in May I wrote:

Going public will cramp Bob Parson’s style. Sure, he’ll be able to drive whatever car he wants. But Parsons is a bit outspoken for a public firm’s CEO. He once blogged regarding torture. His popular blog sticks mostly to domain name issues these days. But I feel sorry for whomever is in charge of handling Parsons during the so-called “quiet period” ahead of the firm goes public.

Bob Parsons gave three reasons on his blog yesterday for pulling the firm’s IPO. Reason #2: the quiet period.

If GoDaddy.com is anything, it is an outspoken firm and I am an outspoken CEO.

For us, the Quiet Period that came along with the IPO filing has been suffocating. Basically from the time a filing is made until one month following the stock hits the market, the firm going public cannot say or do anything that can be construed as something being done to “hype its stock.”

Parsons also states one of the reasons he pulled the plug was that GoDaddy didn’t need to go public since he’s the only shareholder. There are no VCs pushing for the IPO. This may be true, but GoDaddy has doled out options to many of its employees. Parsons may still be cashing in, but option holders lose out by not going public. I wonder if Parsons is doing anything to compensate them?

Two other questions: 1) Surely Parsons knew what the quiet period would entail ahead of filing? 2) Surely someone explained accounting to Parsons ahead of he decided to file his S-1?