I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't think Mailbox was derailed by Dropbox, since it barely had a public life before Dropbox and certainly would not h

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't think Mailbox was derailed by Dropbox, since it barely had a public life before Dropbox and certainly would not have survived without the acquisition, Dropbox is equally as responsible for the few good years as the original Mailbox team. As far as what Dropbox got out of the acquisition: no idea. I know there was a lot of interest in the Mailbox team, and they were immediately given a much broader purview post-acquisition (much like the founding team of Cove when they got acquired). Ultimately I don't really think that parachuting in founders to take over parts of your company works -- three out of the four of those people no longer work for Dropbox, for instance. However, at the time Dropbox clearly craved adult supervision, and I think that was seen as the way to get it. Oh, and if you have a product people like, that doesn't hurt either. I just found it maddening that Mailbox was built from day one not to make money, and that problem was never solved. That sort of thing can only last for so long.