Thursday, March 12, 2009

Zayo CEO Starts Own Stimulus Plan

Louisville, Colorado-based Zayo's President and CEO, Dan Caruso, is rolling his own version of an economic stimulus plan, saying Thursday that he is looking for unemployed people with a telecom background, who are willing to prove they can help the firm pursue telecom economic stimulus projects. In a post on his personal blog, Caruso said that the firm is looking to fund a 5-person, swat team of contractors. Those contractors will be paid $1000 for the first two weeks of their work, and if they believe that is working, will pay $2000 for the next two weeks of work. Finally, if the firm believe those individuals will work out, it will negotiate a "specific engagement" tailored to the individual. Caruso said that the effort is part of an effort by the firm to tap into the government's stimulus project, which looks to provide funding for broadband development. Zayo is a provider of bandwidth, voice, and managed telecom services, and is venture backed by $128M in capital, from Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, Charlesbank Capital Partners, Battery Ventures, Centennial Ventures, Columbia Capital, M/C Venture Partners, Morgan Stanley AIP, and Oak Investment Partners.