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I'm really quite tired of the arm chair quarterbacking that occurs when a startup decides to exit. Ron Conway said it best in response to Arrington's "Dip shit

I'm really quite tired of the arm chair quarterbacking that occurs when a startup decides to exit. Ron Conway said it best in response to Arrington's "Dip shit companies" comment. Ultimately it's up to the founders. The founders have put the blood sweat and tears into the company. It is the founder's life, their equity and their company. If they decide to cash out, then good for them. If they decide to stick it out and work towards an IPO, good for them. The founder is the gladiator in the arena, fighting for their company and their lives. Who are we to publicly criticize and belittle them. Being a founder is hard enough as it is without other founders publicly criticizing their decisions while waiting for the delivery of their custom Pagani Zonda[1]. ref: [1] : http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/07/pagani-zonda-hh-commissioner-revealed-as-30-year-old-chicago-sof/ http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/07/pagani-zonda-hh-commissio...

ajg1977 16y ago
I know people like to jump on the 37signals guys, but I don't feel this article is a criticism of founders or investors who choose to sell or be acquired. It's a footnote reminder that acquisitions, no matter how well intentioned or promising, often result in promising products gradually being starved of attention and resources as the fickle nature of the acquirer shifts to other matters. Condolences to the users as the product is left to wither in "maintenance mode", or mothballed entirely with the sourcecode & IP archived in a drawer somewhere. It's interesting to contemplate what the del.icio.us and Lala's of the world may have become had they been able to go it alone, and conversely what would have happened to the Facebook or Twitter's had they been acquired in the first few years.
- danilocampos 16y ago
  Very interesting – that is a conversation worth having. The trouble with 37signals and posts like this is their tone. It's shrill, nose held aloft, almost scoldy. It's guaranteed to polarize. I'm sure it's great for traffic, and thus builds their brand, but it doesn't generate the constructive conversation it could. edit: What's more, come on, "condolence?" Selling a business you built from the ground up is a career-defining move.
brandnewlow 16y ago
Don't feed the troll.

ajg1977 16y ago

I know people like to jump on the 37signals guys, but I don't feel this article is a criticism of founders or investors who choose to sell or be acquired. It's a footnote reminder that acquisitions, no matter how well intentioned or promising, often result in promising products gradually being starved of attention and resources as the fickle nature of the acquirer shifts to other matters. Condolences to the users as the product is left to wither in "maintenance mode", or mothballed entirely with the sourcecode & IP archived in a drawer somewhere. It's interesting to contemplate what the del.icio.us and Lala's of the world may have become had they been able to go it alone, and conversely what would have happened to the Facebook or Twitter's had they been acquired in the first few years.

danilocampos 16y ago
Very interesting – that is a conversation worth having. The trouble with 37signals and posts like this is their tone. It's shrill, nose held aloft, almost scoldy. It's guaranteed to polarize. I'm sure it's great for traffic, and thus builds their brand, but it doesn't generate the constructive conversation it could. edit: What's more, come on, "condolence?" Selling a business you built from the ground up is a career-defining move.

brandnewlow 16y ago

Don't feed the troll.