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> "Well, I'm sorry about that. Going public was the best thing that ever happened to this company." I'd be curious to learn Fred Wilson's explanation why going

> "Well, I'm sorry about that. Going public was the best thing that ever happened to this company." I'd be curious to learn Fred Wilson's explanation why going public was the best thing that ever happened to Etsy.

sgt101 9y ago
This is a good lesson on perspectives. I've had a few encounters that have brought it home to me. Here's a list of experiences... - A hated executive team that wreaked absolute havoc in the lives of thousands of people for the sake of a thought experiment which failed, which had failed elsewhere, and could have been implemented in a sensitive and non damaging way anyway. I met a member of this cabal socially years later, and because of personal connections and the need for social smoothness (I have a family and a mortgage so I can't just flounce about) I was compelled to play nice and chat. Over the course of the conversation I realised that this team believed that they had been on a mission to save the company and that they had succeeded, that they were loved by the people they had maimed (many of whom would have had to be restrained had they been in earshot of the conversation) and that they had been removed and denied the credit by "dark forces"! - Employees who when asked opinions about strategic decisions articulate positions that are the polar opposite of the agreed corporate position and sound lunatic (initially) but on reflection, well it turns out that these positions are absolutely as consistent and coherent as the product of 100 slide decks. - Retired colleagues who ask about some initiative or team that is now entirely forgotten in the corporate body, but when it is mentioned I suddenly realise that it was hugely important and significant, but like Stalin's victims, it's been airbrushed out of history! - Execs who's focus is on trivial aspects of the business and / or who openly articulate conspiracy theories about grass root business units "I bet they're itching to..." From Wilson's point of view the pressures and outcomes that he observes are likely significantly resolved and mitigated by the IPO that they did. He probably reflects over a view that moved from immanent displacement and forced illiquidity (due to investors refusing to wave conditions and covenants in agreements that would then mean that no new cash could be generated) to a sunlit upland of board freedom (now threatened by asset strippers). This is not a perspective shared by the founders or employees or even customers, but Wilson almost certainly hasn't spent the considerable cognition required to get that idea. And this is the problem, even relatively little companies like Etsy are staggeringly complex, there's just too much to consider for a human to fit the required views in. To get the view you have to constantly review and consider and check.. leaving no time to do, and do is needed! Roll on corporate AI!

sgt101 9y ago

This is a good lesson on perspectives. I've had a few encounters that have brought it home to me. Here's a list of experiences... - A hated executive team that wreaked absolute havoc in the lives of thousands of people for the sake of a thought experiment which failed, which had failed elsewhere, and could have been implemented in a sensitive and non damaging way anyway. I met a member of this cabal socially years later, and because of personal connections and the need for social smoothness (I have a family and a mortgage so I can't just flounce about) I was compelled to play nice and chat. Over the course of the conversation I realised that this team believed that they had been on a mission to save the company and that they had succeeded, that they were loved by the people they had maimed (many of whom would have had to be restrained had they been in earshot of the conversation) and that they had been removed and denied the credit by "dark forces"! - Employees who when asked opinions about strategic decisions articulate positions that are the polar opposite of the agreed corporate position and sound lunatic (initially) but on reflection, well it turns out that these positions are absolutely as consistent and coherent as the product of 100 slide decks. - Retired colleagues who ask about some initiative or team that is now entirely forgotten in the corporate body, but when it is mentioned I suddenly realise that it was hugely important and significant, but like Stalin's victims, it's been airbrushed out of history! - Execs who's focus is on trivial aspects of the business and / or who openly articulate conspiracy theories about grass root business units "I bet they're itching to..." From Wilson's point of view the pressures and outcomes that he observes are likely significantly resolved and mitigated by the IPO that they did. He probably reflects over a view that moved from immanent displacement and forced illiquidity (due to investors refusing to wave conditions and covenants in agreements that would then mean that no new cash could be generated) to a sunlit upland of board freedom (now threatened by asset strippers). This is not a perspective shared by the founders or employees or even customers, but Wilson almost certainly hasn't spent the considerable cognition required to get that idea. And this is the problem, even relatively little companies like Etsy are staggeringly complex, there's just too much to consider for a human to fit the required views in. To get the view you have to constantly review and consider and check.. leaving no time to do, and do is needed! Roll on corporate AI!