FL2, Where Are You?

Confirmed. The team was sent home on friday. So sad :(

Anyone know why?

It was seized by the bank. Pretty heavy. So many people bounced out of there I just don't think they could maintain.

dang, as someone getting more and more into interactive. FL2 was high on my list of the "one day i want to work with" shops in town. so sad.

Ditto "thechase".

More importantly what can we do to get the talented designers, producers, and developers into a new job? There has to be places for them all no?

Honestly, we'd be surprised if these people are out of work for long. At least, we're hoping they're not. There's a pretty huge hole in the market for most digital roles.

Interesting, too bad - they did some really cool work. I guess the trick though is to manage how much risk you have in producing that stuff vs how profitable it actually is.

A traditional agency VP was hired to change the way the company operated. Nice work dude.

Those that were left will find jobs quickly. Most of the key talent left a while ago and have already moved on. They will all be okay in no time.

Karl the owner shipped in some awesome people just before this. Steven Hubert from Domani Studios came from NY right on the heels of the site he produced "We Choose the Moon" which won the FWA Site of the Year, and Chad Tafolla did some sick work for Scion at Springbox LA.

Its a real shame, there were some real talented people in that office, and people from the coasts thought so as well. I hope they find something quick and keep attracting top talent to this city.

My advice would be for them to send their stuff to CP+B, they are hiring several interactive jobs from production to flash to even experience designers.

Agreed. The shop had a way of pulling in great people - but throwing some proven talent from "the coasts" at problems as serious as they had was too little too late apparently. Good luck to all those out on the street. Hopefully you got something out of your time and FL2 and you career is better for it.

CP+B is always hiring. it's a temporary solution at least :-)

Wow - sad news for sure. FL2ers, come check us out at T1M - we'd love to chat http://www.the1stmovement.com.

so so so sad, such great work. I agree, they should all find jobs quickly, so much talent.

14Four is hiring - shoot us a DM.
http://twitter.com/14Four/status/10187770527

Feels like everyone is hiring right now - this is simple thinning of the agency herd. You guys will all be fine.

So sad to hear this! Such a talented group!

Sorry to hear this - hopefully everyone will land elsewhere - they did some great work in their time - I had done some work there myself. Good luck Karl and team.

Effective UI is also looking for folks.

We were following FL2 and respected their work and client list, as well. Those folks who lost their jobs, please check out our available positions. http://www.reddoor.biz/aboutus/careers/

How do you go from being featured in the Communication Arts Interactive Annual (twice in one issue!) and being a finalist at SXSW to locking the doors?

Sad day in Denver. Good luck team

Face it, there was a shitload of attitude going along with those FWA site of the day awards. These guys did one specific thing real well- project based flash websites. And apparently that niche has been getting slimmer and slimmer. Maybe they began realizing they needed to expand their offerings to stay afloat but it was too late.

Some could say that the cow was being sold for the price of the milk.

This sucks.
I know from experience that there are some great people over there.
While most of the original team had already moved on, this new collection of talent is awesome. There will be some very lucky shops in town if they scoop these guys up.

This might shed some light on the subject:

http://www.thedenveregotist.com/editorial/2009/december/15/get-your-goss...

It's amazing how people aways bitch about the gossip on this site but typically it turns out to be right on the money.

Such sad news. They were always respected for the work they produced. It's a real shame. I just hope the best for all of their people. Carl is a great guy as well. Bummer.

Factory Design Labs is also looking for Interactive (web development) and creative talent.

FL2 was a great shop, I heard they shipped out some great guys from the coasts recently, a Steve something from Domani in NY. Hope he finds something quick!

"How do you go from being featured in the Communication Arts Interactive Annual (twice in one issue!) and being a finalist at SXSW to locking the doors?"

I can tell you how. Clients don't want Flash sites anymore. They want SEO-friendly, usable sites that show an ROI. Which is exactly what lots of the solid, quiet web agencies have been doing and it's exactly why they continue to grow.

P.S. Clients don't give a shit about awards.

^That's kind of a blanket statement.
FL2 has crushed plenty of non-Flash sites. In fact, they are nominated for Technical Achievement at SXSW for a non-Flash site.

P.S. When your clients are traditional agencies, they most certainly do give a shit about awards.

When it comes to showing ROI, it doesn't matter whether it's a Flash or non-flash site as long as it's the "right" technology. Any way you look at it, FL2 had a great portfolio and great talents, it's unfortunate that most, if not all agencies are more project-based than not and FL2 just became a victim of cash flow management. We shall all remember FL2 as an admirable, talented group of guys who produced a bunch of not only award-winning, but inspiring work.

Giantnerd® is hiring talented developers for a social shopping platform. http://www.giantnerd.com/php-web-2-deverloper-social-networking-guru
FL2 did some great work and I wish everyone there (especially Pete and Chad) luck although their talents probably do more than the luck will.

Quick Left in downtown Boulder is hiring developers too. Check us out at quickleft.com and on twitter @quickleft.

It's good to see the design community come together to help these guys out.

When is the liquidation sale? They had some nice furniture and flashy bits of kit in that office.

Good point Anon...some of those chairs were hella fly.

Moxie Sozo may be hiring..........

I'm sure that the team at FL2 will be employed again in no time. They are a really talented bunch and the interactive space is thriving. If any of you need help with kick starting your job search feel free to give me a shout. (I am the Interactive Agent with Aquent). You can find me at mdunlea@aquent.com - Good luck!

I would love to see a couple smaller shops shoot up from this closing. It's a great time to be your own boss.

Sad news indeed. We had been trying to find opportunities to collaborate with them for awhile. Carl was a great, smart guy. If anyone fron the design/dev team would consider relo. to DC, RP3 is looking.
jlansbury@rp3agency.com

RIP FL2.

Very sad to see this. We had ultimate respect for FL2 work. Vermilion in Boulder has a couple openings in our interactive department. Give us a shout.

Bummer for all involved but I'm confused why everyone is so surprised. This was discussed (the eminent fall of FL2) by the egotist community three months ago.

As anon above says, people always whine about the amount of gossip on this site but if those that were left at FL2 paid a little more attention, they might have been better prepared (already gone) by the time the actual doors were locked. The delicate nature of this biz demands that we aggressively protect our own careers. It sucks but we have to be ready to move along once the signs become clear.

If your shop is in drastic decline, and the leadership is too inept, complacent or clueless to turn it around, you should probably be on the phone with the Creative Group (or whoever) BEFORE you get the "this is very difficult for us to tell you..." speech.

http://www.thedenveregotist.com/editorial/2009/december/15/get-your-goss...

Lisa

Lisa, hindsight is always 20/20. There were a lot of factors at play when FL2 went down. This business is inherently risky. There was also a lot of big opportunities that were coming down the line. They just didn't make it to us in time. The lot of us didn't expect the end to be so abrupt.

I am looking for someone with expertise in CSS, jQuery, Javascript and more specifically Wordpress to co-design and develop my new website and blog. It is a paying project also with high visibility guaranteed. If anyone from FL2 needs a little gig to float them the next month or two, send me an email. I'd love to keep this local so we can all continue to raise one our profiles.

I'm a Webmaster who would like all qualified employees of FL2 who is looking for careers for real life Entrepreneurs to view my profile at Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/internetsearchengineconsultant

My Mobile Marketing Texting Campaigns is the real business in todays internet globally!

Look forward to you're reply to the following email address:

entrepreneur@1moorewebsite.com

^wow

I'm with Boa Technology and FL2 did some solid work for us -- including launch of a new website and an online, interactive product design lab. We were constantly impressed with their team's thoroughness and eagerness to invest some serious up-front thought before rolling up the sleeves and executing. Invariably, this translated to excellent, strategically sound work. I have nothing but the highest praise for Karl Becker and the FL2 team.

garett [at] boatechnology.com

Had much respect for their work. Seemed like good lads. What's going to happen to itweetedmypants?

If any of these talented people are looking for a new gig, Blind Society - Arizona's hottest shop is currently looking for talented interactive developers.

More info here : http://www.blindsociety.com/blindspot/blind-society-seeking-interactive-...

An immensity talented group who's work I have a great amount of respect for. FL2 was strong creatively and were killing it here in town, I felt they were about to blow up big. Sorry to all involved.

AP, Factory Design Labs

Hahahaha. Nice website Blind Society.

RIP FL2. To all those assed out by the closing - you'll have a gig by summer. Market is hot.

rb

Sorry about this news.
If anyone's interested, we are seeking staff positions for our Chicago office.
Sr. Interactive AD's, integrated CW's, creative technologist.
My e-mail is clikhite@c-k.com
Good luck to all.

"Blind Society - Arizona's hottest shop"

Perhaps your air conditioning broke? If you guys are hot, then Arizona has a LONG way to go. Please upgrade your work and your website before you anoint yourselves "Arizona's hottest shop".

As one of the members of the fl2 team I think it is important to note that there were multiple reasons for the closure. It wasn't due to particular people at all (as some have mentioned). Our team was collectively amazing and we all - everyone of us - put our hearts and souls into our work. A few late payments in this economy is a big hit to small agencies. Working at a small agency with great talent is what we all desired. The big giants have lost touch with some of their work and we all appreciated working in such a tight environment.

Good luck to everyone in the future. Working there was a very great experience.

Also, thanks to you all (including our past clients) who supported our work and admired our talent.

We all also appreciate the agencies who are opening their doors by posting positions available to us.