Blockchain Media Startup CEO Steps Down for Tech Role at Washington Post

Jarrod Dicker, CEO of the media monetization startup Po.et, has been named the Washington Post’s Vice President of Commercial Technology and Development.

With the news, announced by Dicker on Medium today, he will step down as CEO of the company, taking a role on the advisory board instead. David Turner, currently head of product, will take over as the blockchain startup’s top executive.

In his announcement, Dicker wrote of Turner:

“He’s already been leading both the engineering and product functions for the past few months and is more than equipped to oversee the rest of Po.et.”

Po.et uses the bitcoin blockchain to establish the provenance of digital media, aiming to improve monetization and discovery for content creators.

This will be a return to the Post by Dicker, who previously led the paper’s innovation group. The so-called RED team (research, experimentation and development) at the Jeff Bezos–owned company has been credited with using technology to come up with innovative ways to earn revenue on news.

The Post has reportedly had two years of profitability with strong revenue growth despite a generally chilly climate for media, according to Axios.

According to his LinkedIn, Turner previously worked in social media analytics and scalable marketing.

In his announcement, Dicker said that it had been a strong year for Po.et, while also suggesting results also didn’t seem to quite meet expectations. He wrote:

“We built a team that aimed to drive at 100 mph all the time. We’ve found that this has been the core component of our success but has also humbled us. The reality is that we’re facing a long road to adoption.”

Po.et parted with five members of its engineering team last December, as reported by The Block.

It wasn’t the only company in this space to meet headwinds.

Civil, a ConsenSys “spoke” that aimed to improve the monetization of digital news companies, has struggled to generate financial support from either cryptocurrency enthusiasts or news junkies.

At the Post, Dicker will be responsible for driving further innovation in revenue strategies across the company’s operations. His previous role at the paper was VP of Commercial Product and Innovation.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly listed Dicker as a founder of Po.et. The company was founded in 2016; Dicker joined as CEO in February 2018.

Press conference image via Shutterstock