7 ms·

Doesn't seem like a acqui-hire. Is it really worth hundreds of millions to buy someone?

theGimp 10y ago
Some individuals, yes. CEOs are often paid hundreds of millions of dollars, and some VP-level executives at big companies are also worth that kind of money.
- JupiterMoon 10y ago
  Is paid really the same as worth?
- confiscate 10y ago
  What really? I thought CEOs are paid millions, not hundreds-of-millions. I mean, if they stay at the company for decades, sure it can add up to hundreds-of-millions. But upfront? Sounds like a lot!
  - rch 10y ago
    Not saying it happened in the case of Quip, but last year Google effectively paid $380M for Diane Greene: https://techcrunch.com/2015/11/19/google-buys-bebop-and-names-diane-greene-to-lead-enterprise-cloud-effort/ https://techcrunch.com/2015/11/19/google-buys-bebop-and-name...
    - confiscate 10y ago
      Oh interesting. Nice info.
  - hellogoodbyeeee 10y ago
    It is a little different because the bulk of their compensation is often in shares or options to buy shares. These are often structured in a way such that they are "free" money. If you have a company with a hundred million shares outstanding, you can make 500,000 new shares and only dilute the total value of the company a little but still add to an employee's net worth quite a bit.
- metafunctor 10y ago
  Hmm. By what mechanism will Taylor be able to net billions of dollars to Salesforce in the next few years?
  - duaneb 10y ago
    Well he helped build google maps. That's a decent example of how small teams can create large value over enough time. Another example: the original tablet at Apple was built by one guy. Sharp people can focus on good investments and generate disproportional returns, even if they didn't do the work directly.
pb 10y ago
The right person is. How much was Steve Jobs worth to Apple? Bret is one of the most outrageously talented and productive people I've ever worked with. In a high-leverage position, such a person can be extremely valuable.
- segmondy 10y ago
  Why not just hire him directly? Hey, come work for us. Here, salary of $20/mil a year, guaranteed for the next 5 years.
  - huac 10y ago
    Theoretically, as the CEO of Quip, he has some interest in helping his coworkers cash out too.
  - pb 10y ago
    Obviously the rest of the team is likely to be very talented as well. Also, he's the founder, which includes a responsibility to act in the best interest of the company (plus $20M/yr would be much less money).
    - zaidf 10y ago
      Also, someone like Bret is very unlikely to be attracted by purely monetary gain like a $20/mil year salary(or even $50/mil year.) He probably cares as much, if not more, in being able to achieve some larger goal--which requires building a sort of team he has already built.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - duaneb 10y ago
    Nothing like abandoning a company you built right as it hits its stride.
- kennywinker 10y ago
  That's a good question. When Steve came back to Apple through the NeXT acquisition, he didn't come alone. He brought a team of smart devs, and a pretty awesome technology stack (Foundation, AppKit, Objective C). Now Steve was obviously the lynchpin and you probably couldn't have gotten one without the other, but I wonder hypothetically what the value of those things separated would have been. Steve alone, or team+ip alone. I suspect neither one would have been as valuable as both together.

Some individuals, yes. CEOs are often paid hundreds of millions of dollars, and some VP-level executives at big companies are also worth that kind of money.

JupiterMoon 10y ago
Is paid really the same as worth?
confiscate 10y ago
What really? I thought CEOs are paid millions, not hundreds-of-millions. I mean, if they stay at the company for decades, sure it can add up to hundreds-of-millions. But upfront? Sounds like a lot!
- rch 10y ago
  Not saying it happened in the case of Quip, but last year Google effectively paid $380M for Diane Greene: https://techcrunch.com/2015/11/19/google-buys-bebop-and-names-diane-greene-to-lead-enterprise-cloud-effort/ https://techcrunch.com/2015/11/19/google-buys-bebop-and-name...
  - confiscate 10y ago
    Oh interesting. Nice info.
- hellogoodbyeeee 10y ago
  It is a little different because the bulk of their compensation is often in shares or options to buy shares. These are often structured in a way such that they are "free" money. If you have a company with a hundred million shares outstanding, you can make 500,000 new shares and only dilute the total value of the company a little but still add to an employee's net worth quite a bit.
metafunctor 10y ago
Hmm. By what mechanism will Taylor be able to net billions of dollars to Salesforce in the next few years?
- duaneb 10y ago
  Well he helped build google maps. That's a decent example of how small teams can create large value over enough time. Another example: the original tablet at Apple was built by one guy. Sharp people can focus on good investments and generate disproportional returns, even if they didn't do the work directly.

pb 10y ago

The right person is. How much was Steve Jobs worth to Apple? Bret is one of the most outrageously talented and productive people I've ever worked with. In a high-leverage position, such a person can be extremely valuable.

segmondy 10y ago
Why not just hire him directly? Hey, come work for us. Here, salary of $20/mil a year, guaranteed for the next 5 years.
- huac 10y ago
  Theoretically, as the CEO of Quip, he has some interest in helping his coworkers cash out too.
- pb 10y ago
  Obviously the rest of the team is likely to be very talented as well. Also, he's the founder, which includes a responsibility to act in the best interest of the company (plus $20M/yr would be much less money).
  - zaidf 10y ago
    Also, someone like Bret is very unlikely to be attracted by purely monetary gain like a $20/mil year salary(or even $50/mil year.) He probably cares as much, if not more, in being able to achieve some larger goal--which requires building a sort of team he has already built.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- duaneb 10y ago
  Nothing like abandoning a company you built right as it hits its stride.
kennywinker 10y ago
That's a good question. When Steve came back to Apple through the NeXT acquisition, he didn't come alone. He brought a team of smart devs, and a pretty awesome technology stack (Foundation, AppKit, Objective C). Now Steve was obviously the lynchpin and you probably couldn't have gotten one without the other, but I wonder hypothetically what the value of those things separated would have been. Steve alone, or team+ip alone. I suspect neither one would have been as valuable as both together.