Fonality Fight Club INTRO Video

So, it's been a pretty crappy economy. And, at Fonality we have felt some of this pain. Our primary product is a phone system and companies tend to buy less of these when they are firing their staff. 2009 hasn't been devastating but this certainly doesn't look like the first half of 2008. Has it been all bad news? No. We have used this time to: make ourselves more efficient, invest heavily in R&D, and analyze areas of the business that don't get noticed when you are doubling in size every single year.
But, sometimes when things are down, you just really need to hit someone. So, why not hit your boss? As such, the Fonality employees have decided to have some fun...at each other's expense. They have launched their own official FIGHT CLUB. Our first rule of FIGHT CLUB is: tell everyone about FIGHT CLUB!
So, what does this all mean? Well, it means that in six weeks a bunch of tech geeks, with no previous fighting experience, will be getting into a ring and attempting to knock out or submit each other in a UFC-style MMA tournament. Six weeks isn't a lot of time to get in shape, start eating right, learn how to fight, and learn how to not get hurt. But, six weeks it is.
While risque, the whole endeavor has been hilarious and has notably improved the office morale. I walked out of my office the other day and saw 10 support folks all hanging around an ab roller, seeing who could do more ab rolls. When is the last time you saw a bunch of geeks competing on stomach crunches? :)
View the Flyerhttp://app.fonality.com/ffc/aff2.jpg
Fighter Listhttp://app.fonality.com/ffc
How it Workshttp://app.fonality.com/ffc/how.htm
Twitter!http://twitter.com/fon_FIGHT_CLUB
So far 17 fighters, including myself, have signed up. It's gonna be wild! Just yesterday a support engineer signed up...in MY weight class. He has 3 years of extensive Karate and Boxing experience. Compare that to my 3 days and..well...I'm not only reaching for the stars but I will likely end up seeing a few in June.
Sincerely,
Chris 'The CEOMFG STFU' Lyman
Class: Lightweight
Fighting Style: Peek 'a BOOM

http://www.fonality.com/blog/and-you-think-the-economy-is-tough
http://app.fonality.com/ffc/aff2.jpg
http://app.fonality.com/ffc
http://app.fonality.com/ffc/how.htm
http://twitter.com/fon_FIGHT_CLUB

http://www.socaltech.com/local_startup_takes_new_twist_on_employee_morale_sets_up_fight_club/s-0021382.html
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Local Startup Takes New Twist On Employee Morale, Sets Up Fight Club

Story by Benjamin F. Kuo

Most companies, when they're looking to raise company morale, might set up a company picnic, Friday night beer bash, or maybe go on a ski trip. Instead, the executives over at Culver City-based Fonality decided on something different: a full blown, mixed-martial arts (MMA) tournament between its employees. Fonality, which is a venture-backed developer of PBX software used for replacing corporate phone systems, is in the midst of its own version of an employee morale-booster: training for the "Fonality Fight Club" and a competition refereed by martial arts expert Chris Reilly, who regularly trains fighters for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). According to CEO Chris Lyman and VP of Product and Marketing Corey Brundage, the idea for the fight club came when Lyman ran into Reilly in a restaurant, and learned about his fighting class. Lyman explains that because of the lackluster economy, the "energy was different" around the firm, and they felt instead of solving by "hugging it out" they'd "punch it out."

"I think the CEO and VP of Marketing are expendable, but I do worry about the guys in support, who actually do the work," Lyman said in an interview, when asked whether he had any worries about their key employees being injured. Lyman also said that the participants will be wearing lots of safety guards, like shin guards, mouth guards, head wraps, and more. The company has also banned people who have previously fought before, or had experience in martial arts, from participating, with the exception of one employee. Lyman said the firm now has 17 employees signed up for the event.

What do employees get out of beating each other up? The firm is giving the winner two free weeks of vacation. The loser will have grow a mustache, commensurate to which round in the fight they lose, plus write a hand written note to the winner's mother, apologizing for losing to the winner.

As for the firm's business, Lyman said that the company--which recently reported it had strong financial growth in recent months--is not immune from the current slowdown, but said the company is using the environment to become more efficient in its business, explaining that some of the best companies have been built in recessions.