I think the interesting point here is that the company is private and doesn't have to maximize short term profits for shareholder gains. From my own experience

I think the interesting point here is that the company is private and doesn't have to maximize short term profits for shareholder gains. From my own experience I've seen that a private/bootstrapped company has much more flexibility to think long term (and that usually means keeping employees happy) than a public company. On the other hand the stock market drives a lot of important things like pension funds, mutual funds, etc. Maybe we can strike a balance and trade shares based on their long term dividend potential.