Pulvermedia Pulls Disappearing Act

When Karleen Greene, marketing and communications manager for Grandstream Networks, booked exhibit space for VON Europe Amsterdam, owned by tech event organizer pulvermedia and scheduled June 2-5 at the Amsterdam RAI in the Netherlands, she had no idea what a headache she was in for.

In the months before Greene and two of her colleagues were to get on a plane for Amsterdam, pulvermedia not only hit a financial brick wall, but it also had its senior management team, including founder and chairman Jeff Pulver, unceremoniously leave the company; cut off communication with exhibitors regarding the fate of its shows; and was rumored to have been seized by venture capital firm TICC Capital, the company that provided it with a cash infusion last year.

Greene said a pulvermedia salesperson called to tell her VON Europe had been tentatively postponed. She said, after that one brief communication, none of her calls to the company have been returned.

“This is just ridiculous,” she said. “I've heard nothing.”

VON Europe is not on the calendar on Amsterdam RAI's Web site and calls to the venue for comment were not returned.

Greene and her colleagues still plan to go to Amsterdam to meet with clients, but “we are not going to even bother going to see if the show is there,” she added.

Pulvermedia did not return calls for comment, and TICC Capital declined to comment.

Though Spring VON, a one-time Tradeshow Week Fastest 50 winner and one of pulvermedia's flagship events, went off without a hitch March 17-20 at the San Jose (Calif.) McEnery Convention Center, the show won't be back next year, according to Diana Ponton, vice president of sales for Team San Jose, a public-private entity that oversees the city's bureau and convention center.

“From what we understand, pulvermedia closed its doors May 2,” Ponton said. She would not say who gave her the information but, she added, “(Pulvermedia's) investors, TICC Capital, pulled the rug out from under them ... We are not currently holding space (for Spring VON 2009). We hope, and anticipate, the show will pop back onto the radar.”

However, whether Fall VON, on the calendar Oct. 27-30 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, will still take place or not seems to be in question.

Executive Director Jim Rooney of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, which runs the BCEC, said he was well aware of problems at pulvermedia. The BCEC has had difficulty getting information from Fall VON's producer, he added, though the company signed a five-year contract for the show last year. “We've had no formal communication and no indication from any party of interest that they won't hold the show,” Rooney said.

Longtime VON exhibitors, such as PortaOne, seem to know a different story.

Mike Stukalin, PortaOne's sales manager, said, “We were left out to dry.”

A message to PortaOne customers on the company's Web site stated: “Since 2005, PortaOne has invested a lot to participate in every major VON event in the United States and Europe. We now have our booths booked for Amsterdam and Boston shows this year and even San Jose in 2009. Unfortunately, it is our understanding at the moment that these shows will not happen either.”

Stukalin told TSW he had tried calling pulvermedia numerous times for information on the upcoming shows to no avail.

“We are under the assumption that they're not going to happen,” he added.

The first concerns about pulvermedia's financial problems surfaced during Spring VON, according to Stukalin. It was a successful show for his company, but rumors swirled around the showfloor.

On March 13, a few days before Spring VON opened, Greenwich, Conn.-based TICC Capital informed the Securities and Exchange Commission in a routine quarterly filing that it was reporting an unrealized loss of $10.6 million on senior secured notes and warrants to purchase common stock issued by pulvermedia.

According to the filing, “During the first quarter of 2008, pulvermedia indicated that it was projecting a sudden and dramatic decline in projected revenues and earnings for the coming year. ... Largely as a result of consolidation in the telecommunications industry and competition from other providers, the company is projecting a substantial reduction in its business.”

The document also said the likelihood of an economic recession would have an impact on attendance at the company's shows.

After the March 13 filing, pulvermedia CEO Jason Chudnofsky confirmed the company had made some layoffs in an effort to “consolidate the group,” and it was “restructuring and reorganizing,” as well as “looking at a challenging year.”

After that, Chudnofsky did not return calls to Tradeshow Week. However, company principals began to jump ship.

On April 24, Pulver posted on his blog, “Just wanted to share the news that I have resigned as director from pulvermedia. And I am not able to say anything else nor can I address questions about this.”

A little more than a week later, Carl Ford, pulvermedia's vice president of content and community, posted on his blog, “So long, it's been good to know you.”

Scott Kargman, show manager for Spring and Fall VONs, did not return calls for comment.

Pulvermedia was one of a handful of TICC Capital's investments that weren't doing well, and Wall Street responded after the company released its first-quarter earnings May 6: Its stock closed the next day at $7.22 a share, down from its 52-week high on June 11 of $17.31.

Longtime VON exhibitors remain frustrated. “We're not sure after the close of pulvermedia if there is going to be a Fall VON,” said a spokeswoman for exhibitor Adtran. “We do not plan to participate at this point, and we have requested a full refund.” She added that there has been no response to her request.