4 ms·

The toughest decision of my life

63 points by paraschopra 16y ago

dtf 16y ago
A little to much schadenfreude for my taste. Is it really all about winning?
- paraschopra 16y ago
  Off-topic, but thanks. You taught me a new word today!
- fexl 16y ago
  I see no schadenfreude in this article. On the contrary, I see this: "For me, this was not sweet revenge but just the toughest decision (to sell or fight) that had turned out so positively!!" I'm not sure why you ask the general question about winning. This is a story of a man making a choice that he thought would better his condition. He had no reason to do otherwise.
  - bootload 16y ago
    "... I'm not sure why you ask the general question about winning. ..." From the VC point of view and the deal not going ahead unless Alok is totally removed is all about control and winning. I think the most positive lesson Alok demonstrated here is "... Sell when the going is good – not when the time is right. ..." ~ http://rodinhood.com/2010/06/05/confessions-of-a-digital-entrepreneur/ http://rodinhood.com/2010/06/05/confessions-of-a-digital-ent...
- bvi 16y ago
  I think he brought out a very interesting perspective of how things unfold in the board room. Don't turn his post into what it's not - there was no "schadenfreude" in what he had written.
nazgulnarsil 16y ago
no one start up is worth the initial fuck you money that allows you to spend the rest of your life working on cool startups rather than on someone elses boring stuff.
- hga 16y ago
  True, although the 3 year world-wide non-compete in the mobile market was also an issue (see his comment http://rodinhood.com/2010/06/17/the-toughest-decision-of-my-life/#comment-375 http://rodinhood.com/2010/06/17/the-toughest-decision-of-my-...). I can see this being a difficult decision, but he only took a few weeks to come to the right one (at the time, let alone with 20/20 hindsight).
  - nazgulnarsil 16y ago
    non-competes don't hold up well in court.
    - hga 16y ago
      But they can have a chilling effect in attracting investment (been there, done that, in proto-companies where other key people had been foolish enough to sign them). Part of the calculation is that if you turn out to be successful the threatening party will have every motivation to sue. I'm certain the unenforceability of them in California has a lot to do with the sustained success of Silicon Valley (although in this case, as a founder, his might be enforceable there).
nkohari 16y ago
I understand that it must be frustrating to be forced out of your own company, but seriously -- you made a shitload of money. Be happy it worked out to your advantage, and go find something new to do.
hga 16y ago
Note that "promoter" in this context is Indian English for something like owner/founder.
stakent 16y ago
"Operators were unrelenting to share more than 20-25% revenues, payments were delayed by months ..." Joy of the bussines with middleman between you and your source of revenue.
krav 16y ago
The rest of his blog is quite good as well, recommend reading it.

63 points by paraschopra 16y ago

dtf 16y ago

A little to much schadenfreude for my taste. Is it really all about winning?

paraschopra 16y ago
Off-topic, but thanks. You taught me a new word today!
fexl 16y ago
I see no schadenfreude in this article. On the contrary, I see this: "For me, this was not sweet revenge but just the toughest decision (to sell or fight) that had turned out so positively!!" I'm not sure why you ask the general question about winning. This is a story of a man making a choice that he thought would better his condition. He had no reason to do otherwise.
- bootload 16y ago
  "... I'm not sure why you ask the general question about winning. ..." From the VC point of view and the deal not going ahead unless Alok is totally removed is all about control and winning. I think the most positive lesson Alok demonstrated here is "... Sell when the going is good – not when the time is right. ..." ~ http://rodinhood.com/2010/06/05/confessions-of-a-digital-entrepreneur/ http://rodinhood.com/2010/06/05/confessions-of-a-digital-ent...
bvi 16y ago
I think he brought out a very interesting perspective of how things unfold in the board room. Don't turn his post into what it's not - there was no "schadenfreude" in what he had written.

nazgulnarsil 16y ago

no one start up is worth the initial fuck you money that allows you to spend the rest of your life working on cool startups rather than on someone elses boring stuff.

hga 16y ago
True, although the 3 year world-wide non-compete in the mobile market was also an issue (see his comment http://rodinhood.com/2010/06/17/the-toughest-decision-of-my-life/#comment-375 http://rodinhood.com/2010/06/17/the-toughest-decision-of-my-...). I can see this being a difficult decision, but he only took a few weeks to come to the right one (at the time, let alone with 20/20 hindsight).
- nazgulnarsil 16y ago
  non-competes don't hold up well in court.
  - hga 16y ago
    But they can have a chilling effect in attracting investment (been there, done that, in proto-companies where other key people had been foolish enough to sign them). Part of the calculation is that if you turn out to be successful the threatening party will have every motivation to sue. I'm certain the unenforceability of them in California has a lot to do with the sustained success of Silicon Valley (although in this case, as a founder, his might be enforceable there).

nkohari 16y ago

I understand that it must be frustrating to be forced out of your own company, but seriously -- you made a shitload of money. Be happy it worked out to your advantage, and go find something new to do.

hga 16y ago

Note that "promoter" in this context is Indian English for something like owner/founder.

stakent 16y ago

"Operators were unrelenting to share more than 20-25% revenues, payments were delayed by months ..." Joy of the bussines with middleman between you and your source of revenue.

krav 16y ago

The rest of his blog is quite good as well, recommend reading it.