Noah Smith was one of the two employees Wallake fired. Now he’s being inundated with job offers
A South Dakota marketer who was fired by the “Crying CEO” has been inundated with job offers, his former boss said.
Noah Smith was fired from HyperSocial, and last week the CEO, Braden Wallake, posted a lengthy statement on LinkedIn about how devastated he was.
It later emerged that HyperSocial had eliminated only two employees from the company, and Wallake himself only fired one: Smith got the bad news from Wallake’s friend, Emily Chucta, the chief operations officer.
Wallake was mercilessly mocked online for the gushing post, in which he declared his love for his co-workers and said he had never felt so down. The post went viral, with 10,000 comments and over 52,000 reactions.
Braden Wallake posted a tearful photo on LinkedIn last Tuesday and shared his desperation at having to lay off employees
On Monday, Wallake said the ridicule and shame was worth it because Smith had been approached by several people offering potential new jobs.
“Noah sent me this picture the other day,” Wallake wrote on LinkedIn, including a screenshot of Smith’s LinkedIn inbox, which was full of people writing messages about work.
“It was never intended to go viral, but seeing that makes every single nasty comment worth it.
“You guys FILLED Noah Smith’s inbox with job offers, vacancies and more.
“Thanks to all of you, Noah will have an abundance of incredible choices to choose from.
‘And wherever he chooses will be so lucky to have him!’
Wallake said he had no regrets posting the photo of him crying and the heartfelt message – but he did regret how some people had reacted cynically.
He told PR Week he’s also received many messages of support.
When asked why he didn’t delete the post, he replied: “It’s because I get tons of messages from other business owners saying, ‘Love that, was there, worst feeling, right there with you.
“There was a lot of good in this post, but I’m trying not to sit and read the negative [comments].’
Wallake, who founded Hyper Social in 2016, made headlines for the first time last Tuesday with his first post.
“I know it’s unprofessional to tell my co-workers I love them,” he said.
“But with all my heart I hope they know how much I do.”
He added: “I can’t think of a lower moment than this.”
The company’s website lists 18 people as employees.
Wallake is pictured with his girlfriend Emily Chucta, the chief operations officer, with whom he lived and worked in a branded RV that toured the US before returning to Ohio
Wallake and his girlfriend were living in a van, but he announced they had just returned to Columbus, Ohio and were taking a break
Wallake and Chucta have spent the last three years traveling in a branded motorhome and working remotely.
He announced on LinkedIn in late July that they had returned to Columbus, Ohio.
Wallake had been with Smith in Sioux Falls last month.
“The best thing about living in a van as a business owner,” he wrote.
“If your employees are all completely remote, you can visit them!
“We’re going to Chicago and on Friday we decided to stop at Noah Smith’s house and work in Sioux Falls for a few days!”
Wallake told Motherboard that the two fired employees were “over nice” and “assured” him and Chucta that they “would be fine.”
He said he decided to publish the LinkedIn post a few hours later.
“I was just sitting here at my desk just crying I guess and deciding to do the post because I’ve been seeing a lot on LinkedIn lately about how terrible business owners and CEOs are when they fire their employees, and that they do.” Re-firing employees while they get their third home in the Bahamas or wherever,” Wallake said.
In response to comments on the post, Wallake said he stopped taking a salary to avoid firing employees.
Previously he was taking $250 a week.
He told Motherboard that after the company’s rebranding in 2019, he hadn’t previously received a salary and only received a paycheck last year.
But just two months ago, he hired even more staff.
“I’m hiring,” he posted on LinkedIn.
“Do you know anyone who might be interested?
‘Many Sales/Marketing roles available: BDR/SDR/, Lead Generation, Account Executive, High Ticket Closer and more!’
Wallake and Chucta traveled throughout the United States, living and working away from the vehicle
Wallake and Chucta are pictured with their dog, Roscoe
He said he never intends to downplay the feelings of those unleashed, but wants to share his feelings.
“It was a weak time in my life,” he told Motherboard.
‘[I] I didn’t try to compare my low time to the low time of the laid off employees because theirs is much worse.
“But just to share the journey I’m personally going through as a business owner in today’s world.”
Others accused Wallake of being too weak to run a business or relying on cunning self-promotion.
His company specializes in advertising on LinkedIn.
One of her specialties is “LinkedIn Outreach Services”.
“Need more sales activity for your B2B business? With our process, we take cold outreach and turn it into heartfelt conversations with powerful, tailored messages,” the website reads.
They also offer “Content Creation” and “LinkedIn Profile Optimization”.
Wallake himself has 31,000 followers on LinkedIn and 36,000 followers on Instagram.
His posts include: ‘5 LinkedIn Tips to Maximize Your Presence’, ‘Best Practices for Answers on LinkedIn’, ‘8 LinkedIn Secrets Most Business Owners Don’t Know’, ‘Is LinkedIn a Waste of Time?’ and ‘6 Mistakes on LinkedIn company pages that every entrepreneur should avoid.’
“I can’t believe my eyes. Do you really think you’re worse off than those you let go? Come on dude,” one said.
Another commented in disbelief, “You fired people and took a picture of yourself crying and hitting the post?”
Scores of comments on LinkedIn criticized Wallake for making the situation about himself and not the employees he fired
Jason B, a blockchain investor, wrote: “CLICK BAIT AMATEUR HOUR STRIKES AGAIN.
“Did this guy just post a selfie where he was… crying? I mean seriously, does he have any idea how someone with an IQ over 100 is going to see this as the most ridiculous garbage posted on LinkedIn for the day (maybe a week? month?? all year???)?
“This false self-pity, self-awareness, self-focus, selfless self-junk that’s flooding LinkedIn needs to stop. Is there a DUMB button we can click to hide this type of vomit?’
Manuel Pablo Arnao, a real estate agent, added: “That selfie, my goodness. A little restraint might be good.’
And Jackie Stabach, vice president of brand strategy, accused him of feeling sorry for himself.
“Yikes. I’ve just been released – along with many others. If my CEO sent this, I would probably lose my mind. You cry? I cry. We cry.
“You still have your job. Imagine if we all posted pictures of US wines? We would never be hired because in our industries we are forced to be RESILIENT.
“Put these tears in a glass and make a potion to make the lives of the people you laid off better. Connect them to other agencies/potential opportunities.
“That’s not how you show empathy. DO MORE for your laid-off and surviving employees. THIS IS NOT how. Oops again.’
Others were more supportive, praising Wallake for being open about his emotions and showing his humanity.
Responding to questions asked online, Wallake said he hopes it has helped some – even if he has been mocked in the process.
When one person commented that he was accused of self-promotion, Wallake replied, “I think that’s how people help themselves feel better.
“It’s a lot easier to assume I’m being disingenuous with this post than it is to try to get to know me and get the actual truth about whether this post got attention or came from the heart.”
He added: “I’ve laughed at people on other social media platforms who have posted pictures of themselves crying. And then I did it.
“I have no doubt that this position can be a useful tool to either retain these employees or help them find better positions.”
He told one commenter: “I have no regrets about the post. I regret how it was received.’