3 ms·

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

by 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.

by dhh 17y ago

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.