Hours after Carlos Watson CEO of Ozy Media told Morning

Hours after Carlos Watson, CEO of Ozy Media, told Morning News that “he” would reopen “his” company, which announced its closure Friday, a major early investor in Ozy demanded that “he” spend the remaining money on workers’ compensation. Watson, chief executive of Ozy Media, said in an interview with NBCs Today that Ozy will return to business. Ron Conway, one of the first investors, criticized “his” remarks. Watson and the other remaining board member, Michael Moe, head of Silicon Valley investment firm GSV Asset Management, concluded that the company could not recover. In one case, an Ozy executive impersonated a YouTube executive during a conference call in February with Goldman Sachs bankers willing to invest $40 million in the company; the purpose of the apparent impersonation was to assure the Goldman team that Ozys videos were a big hit on YouTube. On Monday, Watson kicked off the media tour with interviews on CNBC’s Squawk Box program and NBC’s Today program. In the days leading up to the announcement of the closure, celebrity journalist Katy Kaye left Ozy; the Ozys board hired the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison to investigate the company and its management; and board chairman Mark Lasry announced “his” resignation. Ron Conway, founder of SV Angel, a Silicon Valley investment firm, and one of Ozy’s early supporters, said in an interview Monday that “he” was alarmed when “he” learned that Watson had launched a Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison investigation into Ozy because the Ozy board members who hired the law firm no longer work for the company. Watson declined to name other Ozys investors, adding that the board now consists of himself and Watson. It was difficult, in many ways heartbreaking. He went on to say that over the weekend “he” met with investors and advertisers and Ozys readers and viewers to prepare for the company’s return. Watson informed employees of the closure in a brief phone call Friday. Watson needed to carry out “his” plan to reopen Ozy, whose Web site had apparently not been updated since last week. Watson advised “him” to cut costs and find a buyer to secure the business. Watson said “he” contacted advertisers and investors — but not Ozys employees. Five days after the New York Times published a report that the company had misled potential investors and partners, Ozy announced it was going out of business. Commenting on the rapid decline of the multimedia company “he” founded in 2013, backed by wealthy investors, “he” said.