Source: Fireflies transcript 01KM9J1A8SYJXTWXVP68BFZHEM (2026-03-23, 41 min)
Participants: Debbie McGrath (dmcgrath@hr.com), Ewing Gillaspy, John Kelly
Built: 2026-03-25 | Status: ACTIVE PURSUIT
WARNING: The earlier files (debbie_broker_analysis.json, llm_commission_responses.json)
reference "$42.6M revenue, 1.92M members, 15% CAGR" — NONE of those numbers came from
Debbie in this call. They may be from public sources or prior research. Do NOT present
unconfirmed numbers to Debbie as if she told us. Use this file as the single source of
truth for what Debbie actually stated.
Debbie described three separable assets. She is open to selling them bundled or individually — whichever optimizes the outcome.
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Domain | hr.com |
| Age | 27 years |
| Type | Two-letter premium .com |
| Debbie's stated value range | $15M–$20M (domain only) |
| Source of valuation | Two brokers who sell "90% of the two-letter domains in the industry" |
| Comparable sale | AI.com sold January 2026 (Debbie referenced this directly) |
| Domain broker commission | Started at 20%, negotiated to 10% — Debbie has NOT signed |
| Debbie's hesitation | "I know all the people" — questioning if she needs the broker at 10% |
Named potential domain buyers (from Debbie):
- SAP
- Workday
- Oracle
- OpenAI
- Anthropic (Claude)
- Google ("no play in HR right now" but interested)
- Deloitte
- Accenture
- PwC
Use case buyers want the domain for:
Agentic AI layer on top of disparate HR systems — a single entry point (like an OpenAI-style interface) that connects all HR software. Debbie spoke to one company already doing this (SAP implementer background, 6 clients, launched January 2026).
De-risking in progress:
Debbie is already separating sub-brands so selling the domain alone is less disruptive:
- HR West — conference, moving to hrwest.com
- Human Resource Research Institute — research division
- HR Certification — cert prep business, moving to hrcertification.com
Ewing's take on buyers (from transcript):
"OpenAI would pay more, but they would scare the bejesus out of customers because their approach to data security... Claude would run it better, but they don't seem to have as big of a weakness to get into enterprise as OpenAI. The one that would do the best job doesn't need you as much, and the one that's going to salivate over you and probably pay you more is likely to screw it up."
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Age | 27 years |
| Type | B2B digital media company — NOT software |
| Positioning | "LinkedIn just for HR people" — community platform for HR professionals |
| Content model | User-generated — content comes from the community |
| Profitability | Profitable (Debbie confirmed) |
| HR vendor directory | 50,000 HR vendors listed |
| Revenue | NOT stated on this call — do NOT assume $42.6M without confirmation |
| EBITDA margin | ~20% (implied — Ewing said "if EBITDA is 20%, which it is in most media companies" and Debbie did not correct him) |
| Media revenue multiple | 1.2x–1.5x revenue (Debbie: "Traditional media companies that have tried to talk to me in the past go for like 1.2 to 1.5, not EBITDA — revenue") |
| Standalone media value | $7M–$10M (Debbie: "maybe like 7 to 10 million depending on how much traffic we have to rebrand") |
| Size trend | "Used to be a lot bigger" — shrunk in last 3 years due to focus on My People + media industry changes |
| Infrastructure | Recently moved off AWS for data ownership/security |
Key detail — the 50,000 vendor directory:
Debbie floated the idea: "If they took the HR.com directory of 50,000 HR vendors and connected them all, it could be magic." This is a strategic asset beyond the media revenue.
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | My People |
| Type | White-label community platform for B2B companies |
| Technology age | 22 years of development (proprietary, now rebuilt) |
| Current stack | TypeScript, Node.js, React — full rewrite completed 2023 |
| Architecture | API-first, native AI, SSO |
| Go-live date | June 2, 2025 |
| Current revenue | $250K/year (paid by HR.com to My People) |
| Self-sustaining? | No — still funded by Debbie / HR.com |
| Funding status | Ready to be funded and spun out once CEO is in place |
COVID proof of concept (2020–2021):
- 260 activations of major associations and organizations
- Named clients: ADP developer community (10,000 software developers, run by Don Weinstein), Michelle Obama on the platform, chief of police
- Debbie couldn't enter the US (Canadian), ran it all remotely
Failed spin-out attempt (Forge / FORJ):
- Bill Philip from Delancey and Partners sourced CEO — former CEO of Montage (sold to HireVue)
- Funded by Baird (Bear Baird money)
- Renamed to Forge (FORJ)
- Goal: create digital communities (learning, virtual events, membership)
- Raised $8M
- Went through 4 CTOs in ~3 years
- CEO "never ran a community" — didn't understand the vision
- Debbie got her IP back in 2023 + received $1M back
- Forge pivoted to LMS for associations (not Debbie's direction)
Current go-to-market:
- Target: HR tech companies (first vertical)
- 35 HR tech clients have expressed interest
- First 7 going live in next ~45 days
- Onboarding: clients send brand guidelines → platform stands up in their brand
- Integrations: Salesforce, HubSpot, customer support communities
- Features: events, help desks, customer health scores, actionable save/intro recommendations
Competitive moat — data ownership:
- HR tech companies currently use LinkedIn groups, Reddit, or Discourse for community — "those aren't communities, those are just chat things"
- Critical issue: companies don't own their community data on those platforms
- My People gives them full data ownership
- Market signal: companies moving back to on-prem (one company Debbie spoke with — first 6 clients went back to on-prem for data ownership)
- Debbie moved HR.com off AWS for same reason: "too dangerous for our customers"
Needs:
- CEO — previous partner "Adam" didn't work out (Debbie: "I don't want another CEO job")
- Funding — ready once CEO is in place
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Process | Full acquisition process run in 2022 |
| Offers received | 8 total |
| Lowest offer | $9M (from an industry association) |
| Highest offer | ~$45M |
| Outcome | Accepted one "in between" — deal fell through |
| Domain valued separately? | No — "they didn't also value the domain name" |
| Implication | The $45M offer was for the whole bundle WITHOUT separate domain premium |
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Age | 63, turning 64 in May 2026 |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Career | 27+ years running HR.com |
| Work ethic | 12 hours/day "for years" |
| Family | 4 grandchildren, 5th on the way |
| Health | Hip replacement scheduled — cannot travel until June 8, 2026 |
| Relationship to Glenn | Close friend, skis together, employs his son Bjorn — Glenn is also Ewing's former boss and referral source |
| Exit mindset | Wants out of day-to-day but realistic ("hard to get totally out") |
| Transition willingness | Open to 2-year commitment (did the same for her last exit) |
| Red line | Does NOT want another CEO role |
| Employee loyalty | Key people with 20–30 year tenure — wants a "good home" for them |
| Buyer relationships | Knows all potential buyers personally — this is both an asset and a reason she needs a broker ("me doing the negotiations is not the best thing") |
| Location (call) | Hotel room in Vegas, at a conference |
| Who | Action | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Debbie | Send detailed document outlining HR.com assets and potential acquirers | Immediately after the call |
| Debbie | Provide available times for follow-up call Thursday (she's traveling — Glenn picking her up ~11am LA time, driving to Mammoth) | By Wed |
| Ewing + John | Review Debbie's asset document | Within 24 hours |
| Ewing + John | Prepare strategic plan with three options | 24–48 hours (by Thursday/Friday) |
| Debbie | Review plan with Glenn at Mammoth (Fri–Sun) | Weekend of 2026-03-27 |
| Debbie | Available for extended work after returning Monday, then home until June 8 (hip surgery recovery) | Ongoing |
These were NOT stated on the call. Must confirm from Debbie's document or follow-up: