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There are lots of things people won't do for any price. That doesn't make them stupid or insane. I wouldn't separate from my wife for $2bn. I wouldn't cut off

There are lots of things people won't do for any price. That doesn't make them stupid or insane. I wouldn't separate from my wife for $2bn. I wouldn't cut off my fingers for $2bn. I wouldn't murder someone for $2bn. A religious person may not denounce God for $2bn. Certain things are more valuable than money; but what those are differ from person to person. DHH seems to value his work at 37signals more than money, which seems to be working out great for him.

axod 17y ago
I think it's easier to build 'another company you love working at', than replacing a wife or your fingers. If creating a company is so easy if you follow the rules in their book ;) why don't they rise to the challenge, and create a new one from scratch? (For extra points they'd do it stealthy so no one knew it was them).
- btilly 17y ago
  I think it's easier to build 'another company you love working at', than replacing a wife or your fingers. Surgery can reattach fingers. With $1b in your pocket (assuming your ex-wife gets the rest in the divorce settlement), lots of women will volunteer to be your next wife. (Of course constructing a successful marriage takes more work.) Creating a new company takes a lot of work. No shortcuts available.
cookiecaper 17y ago
But the thing is that there'd be no material detriment in taking the deal. DHH would just have a ton of money, and he could keep working on Rails apps and whatever else to his heart's content. The kind of emotional connection to what is ultimately a meaningless, lifeless brand where you refuse to sell for any amount of money is surely foolish.
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
- dhh 17y ago
  Of course there's a detrimental effect of selling the company that I've invested the last decade into. The investment is much deeper than purely financial. It's the pride of getting there, the satisfaction of staying there, and the joy of coming to work with the best people I've ever worked with. What a shallow perspective to think all this meaningless just for another zero or two on the bank account.
  - cookiecaper 17y ago
    I guess I don't understand what you mean by "there". Selling the company would only cause further progress. Your employees don't have to stay there, and you don't have to quit. You can sell the company, keep doing the same things, either at 37Signals or some other place, and just be a lot richer at the same time. I really am not seeing a detriment still. You just seem to value the brand 37Signals so much that you're not willing to let another control it. This is silly in my mind, because it's just a brand, and there's no reason to believe you'd lose a lot of control in a potential acquisition anyway, or that even if you did, you couldn't go and start something else and keeping develop Rails apps. This all presumes a good deal. I'm not saying you should just sell to anybody, because you shouldn't, and I wouldn't. But it is a little overboard to claim that you'll never sell, not even for 10 or 20 times your annual revenue even if everything else about the deal was good. I understand not wanting to let someone else run your product into the ground. I know how painful that is, because it's happened to me before. But not every potential buyer is like that.
    - got_linux 17y ago
      No one is going to pay 10-20x to enjoy your business the way you do. Big multiples come with big intentions... usually to realize "untapped potential" or "synergize" your business into a greater whole.
    - egockel 17y ago
      Problem is with many of the replies up here, how many have been part of an IPO or buyout? If you're bought, depending on the terms, you may not be able to "do as you please". They may give you a VP title with some guarantee of 5 years or so. After which they (their board, shareholders, etc) may vote you out, or you may want to quit yourself after seeing your baby run into the ground. Especially if the company (or VC) wants to take your company public. I've seen founding finance and marketing guys pushed aside with new faces that are what "the [wall] street want to see". How's that for a thanks? Further, if you are lucky enough to get bought out/funded for huge sums, its even rarer that lightening strikes twice with your next startup.

axod 17y ago

I think it's easier to build 'another company you love working at', than replacing a wife or your fingers. If creating a company is so easy if you follow the rules in their book ;) why don't they rise to the challenge, and create a new one from scratch? (For extra points they'd do it stealthy so no one knew it was them).

btilly 17y ago
I think it's easier to build 'another company you love working at', than replacing a wife or your fingers. Surgery can reattach fingers. With $1b in your pocket (assuming your ex-wife gets the rest in the divorce settlement), lots of women will volunteer to be your next wife. (Of course constructing a successful marriage takes more work.) Creating a new company takes a lot of work. No shortcuts available.

cookiecaper 17y ago

But the thing is that there'd be no material detriment in taking the deal. DHH would just have a ton of money, and he could keep working on Rails apps and whatever else to his heart's content. The kind of emotional connection to what is ultimately a meaningless, lifeless brand where you refuse to sell for any amount of money is surely foolish.

deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
dhh 17y ago
Of course there's a detrimental effect of selling the company that I've invested the last decade into. The investment is much deeper than purely financial. It's the pride of getting there, the satisfaction of staying there, and the joy of coming to work with the best people I've ever worked with. What a shallow perspective to think all this meaningless just for another zero or two on the bank account.
- cookiecaper 17y ago
  I guess I don't understand what you mean by "there". Selling the company would only cause further progress. Your employees don't have to stay there, and you don't have to quit. You can sell the company, keep doing the same things, either at 37Signals or some other place, and just be a lot richer at the same time. I really am not seeing a detriment still. You just seem to value the brand 37Signals so much that you're not willing to let another control it. This is silly in my mind, because it's just a brand, and there's no reason to believe you'd lose a lot of control in a potential acquisition anyway, or that even if you did, you couldn't go and start something else and keeping develop Rails apps. This all presumes a good deal. I'm not saying you should just sell to anybody, because you shouldn't, and I wouldn't. But it is a little overboard to claim that you'll never sell, not even for 10 or 20 times your annual revenue even if everything else about the deal was good. I understand not wanting to let someone else run your product into the ground. I know how painful that is, because it's happened to me before. But not every potential buyer is like that.
  - got_linux 17y ago
    No one is going to pay 10-20x to enjoy your business the way you do. Big multiples come with big intentions... usually to realize "untapped potential" or "synergize" your business into a greater whole.
  - egockel 17y ago
    Problem is with many of the replies up here, how many have been part of an IPO or buyout? If you're bought, depending on the terms, you may not be able to "do as you please". They may give you a VP title with some guarantee of 5 years or so. After which they (their board, shareholders, etc) may vote you out, or you may want to quit yourself after seeing your baby run into the ground. Especially if the company (or VC) wants to take your company public. I've seen founding finance and marketing guys pushed aside with new faces that are what "the [wall] street want to see". How's that for a thanks? Further, if you are lucky enough to get bought out/funded for huge sums, its even rarer that lightening strikes twice with your next startup.