5 Things NING Got Right

Brain Trust: Ning chairman Marc Andreessen (he built Netscape back in the day), with Bianchini, at the company's HQ in Palo Alto. | Photograph by Art Streiber

In May of 2008 Fast Company put Gina Bianchini on the cover and heralded the "infinite ambitions" of the social network builder NING. The article called NING a "Perpetual Growth Machine." Ouch. One month ago Bianchini stepped down as CEO, and yesterday NING fired 40% of its workforce and announced it was killing the free community...