Tom Leaves GUBA

Tom McInerney, one of the co-founders and chief executive officer of GUBA, a San Francisco-based online video sharing and download service, has resigned and is leaving the company. Eric Lambrecht, Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer of GUBA is going to take over as the CEO of the company.

In an email to his colleagues and business contacts, he said that is leaving the world of technology for now. After a brief break he might look into writing a book, or even make a movie.

I got my first computer for Christmas at the age of 10, it was an Apple IIe. My first job was at Apple after interning there while studying computer science in college. … I may invest and advise with friends who are involved in Internet companies but I intend to stay out of the day to day stuff.

McInerney and Lambrecht started GUBA back in 19987, and developed a web-interface for the Usenet groups. With its easy access to adult content, the subscription service quickly grew in popularity and became profitable.

The online video boom, that started last year saw GUBA shift gears, and clean up its act, spinning out its mature content business into a seperate company. Since then it has partnered with larger players like Comcast, and has developed a piracy technology called Johnny that is viewed favorably by content owners. The company is looking to merge with a larger player, and we have heard them being linked to several, though nothing concrete has developed.