4 ms·

If Microsoft made an offer to buy your startup would you sell?

3 points by jkush 20y ago

blader 20y ago
Realistically, of course I would! Theoretically, it would depend on the terms, the price, and competing offers. If in the unlikely event that Google and Microsoft made competing offers, both requiring substantial vesting terms (2+ years), then Microsoft would have to offer maybe 15-30% more for it to make sense.
ivan 20y ago
If Microsoft would ... there will be many more who would maybe google or yahoo :) So I would not and not because of PG article.
jkush 20y ago
I think how you answer this question says a lot. I'm not sure how I would answer this question myself. Would you refuse to sell on principle? Or because as Paul says, Microsoft is dead? Or do you just take the money, principles be damned?
- whacked_new 20y ago
  Just to split hairs here, is there a difference between principles damned at $1, and principles damned at $1e7? Also, Microsoft might be "dead" but they still provide value to their customers, whatever it is. While Vista might be way overhyped and/or overpriced, it can still do useful things. If your product reaches more customers and results in significant benefits for them, why not leverage MS's position? The principle then, is not about money. It's about your product's purpose. Hotmail for example.
  - jkush 20y ago
    I agree - it's just that I've met too many people who live by principle and not by the situation.
- timg 20y ago
  Just because Microsoft is dead, doesn't mean you can't take their money..
mattjaynes 20y ago
Actually, a better question would be: Would you rather sell your soul to the devil or to this guy? http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6843390913661737077 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6843390913661737077 Seriously, I have a hard time deciding that one ;)
- bootload 20y ago
  '... Actually, a better question would be: ...' My take would be, "do you want to work for MS?". The buyout would probably be conditional on the team working with/for Microsoft until they "get up to speed". So put your hand up if you want to work for SoftCo?
- jkush 20y ago
  Haha. No matter how many times I see that video it kills me. Thanks for the laugh, I needed it. Hahaha.
  - mattjaynes 20y ago
    Thanks ;) Good luck w/ your app!
    - jkush 20y ago
      Same to you sir!
cwilbur 20y ago
Microsoft's money is as green as any other money I'm likely to be offered for the software; my decision would depend on other things like the amount they were offering and the terms of the deal. For instance, "must move to Redmond," "must sign a non-compete contract," and "must be developed in Microsoft proprietary languages and for Microsoft proprietary platforms" would all be deal-killers. My goal here is not to be rich, necessarily, but to create the kind of company I want to work for and make it profitable enough that I don't need to work for any other company. If any buyer, even Microsoft, offered the sort of environment I wanted to work in, plus enough money that I could walk away and not need to work another corporate IT job again if the environment changed, I'd sell. And some of this is predicated on the experience of a good friend of mine, whose team mostly bootstrapped a very profitable company, then sold it to their largest corporate customer; suddenly they were getting guaranteed salaries, and they got to watch their project earn tens of millions in revenue, but the working environment was politically toxic and the company (now a wholly-owned subsidiary) was the football in constant turf wars, and (in retrospect, especially after seeing the first two years' income from the project) the price they asked was about 1/10 of what it should have been. I can't alter the turf wars and political toxicity in certain corporations, but I can make sure I ask a price for my company that means I can stand up and walk away with no financial worries if they develop.
dawie 20y ago
Business is Business. I would sell to anyone that made a decent offer and walk away from anyone that does't!
Mistone 20y ago
lets dream for a minute - All things even, I would prefer Microsoft over Yahoo, but likely go with Google over both. Even better would be a slightly smaller, more focused player like SalesForce.com. It seems that Yahoo has a tendency to sap a startup of all it's mojo, while Google is fairly effective at buying a feature/product and quickly integrating it into their suite. Microsoft has done well with some, and dropped the ball on others, but the embedded reach and business focus would be a huge value add to our business.

3 points by jkush 20y ago

Realistically, of course I would! Theoretically, it would depend on the terms, the price, and competing offers. If in the unlikely event that Google and Microsoft made competing offers, both requiring substantial vesting terms (2+ years), then Microsoft would have to offer maybe 15-30% more for it to make sense.

ivan 20y ago

If Microsoft would ... there will be many more who would maybe google or yahoo :) So I would not and not because of PG article.

jkush 20y ago

I think how you answer this question says a lot. I'm not sure how I would answer this question myself. Would you refuse to sell on principle? Or because as Paul says, Microsoft is dead? Or do you just take the money, principles be damned?

whacked_new 20y ago
Just to split hairs here, is there a difference between principles damned at $1, and principles damned at $1e7? Also, Microsoft might be "dead" but they still provide value to their customers, whatever it is. While Vista might be way overhyped and/or overpriced, it can still do useful things. If your product reaches more customers and results in significant benefits for them, why not leverage MS's position? The principle then, is not about money. It's about your product's purpose. Hotmail for example.
- jkush 20y ago
  I agree - it's just that I've met too many people who live by principle and not by the situation.
timg 20y ago
Just because Microsoft is dead, doesn't mean you can't take their money..

mattjaynes 20y ago

Actually, a better question would be: Would you rather sell your soul to the devil or to this guy? http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6843390913661737077 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6843390913661737077 Seriously, I have a hard time deciding that one ;)

bootload 20y ago
'... Actually, a better question would be: ...' My take would be, "do you want to work for MS?". The buyout would probably be conditional on the team working with/for Microsoft until they "get up to speed". So put your hand up if you want to work for SoftCo?
jkush 20y ago
Haha. No matter how many times I see that video it kills me. Thanks for the laugh, I needed it. Hahaha.
- mattjaynes 20y ago
  Thanks ;) Good luck w/ your app!
  - jkush 20y ago
    Same to you sir!

cwilbur 20y ago

Microsoft's money is as green as any other money I'm likely to be offered for the software; my decision would depend on other things like the amount they were offering and the terms of the deal. For instance, "must move to Redmond," "must sign a non-compete contract," and "must be developed in Microsoft proprietary languages and for Microsoft proprietary platforms" would all be deal-killers. My goal here is not to be rich, necessarily, but to create the kind of company I want to work for and make it profitable enough that I don't need to work for any other company. If any buyer, even Microsoft, offered the sort of environment I wanted to work in, plus enough money that I could walk away and not need to work another corporate IT job again if the environment changed, I'd sell. And some of this is predicated on the experience of a good friend of mine, whose team mostly bootstrapped a very profitable company, then sold it to their largest corporate customer; suddenly they were getting guaranteed salaries, and they got to watch their project earn tens of millions in revenue, but the working environment was politically toxic and the company (now a wholly-owned subsidiary) was the football in constant turf wars, and (in retrospect, especially after seeing the first two years' income from the project) the price they asked was about 1/10 of what it should have been. I can't alter the turf wars and political toxicity in certain corporations, but I can make sure I ask a price for my company that means I can stand up and walk away with no financial worries if they develop.

dawie 20y ago

Business is Business. I would sell to anyone that made a decent offer and walk away from anyone that does't!

Mistone 20y ago

lets dream for a minute - All things even, I would prefer Microsoft over Yahoo, but likely go with Google over both. Even better would be a slightly smaller, more focused player like SalesForce.com. It seems that Yahoo has a tendency to sap a startup of all it's mojo, while Google is fairly effective at buying a feature/product and quickly integrating it into their suite. Microsoft has done well with some, and dropped the ball on others, but the embedded reach and business focus would be a huge value add to our business.