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This all based on a ton of speculation. There are three big unknowns as I see it: -Nobody really knows the details of the offer. -Nobody really knows what Xo
by uuilly 18y ago
This all based on a ton of speculation. There are three big unknowns as I see it:
-Nobody really knows the details of the offer.
-Nobody really knows what Xobni has in store.
-Nobody really knows how much say the VC's had.
Most companies start with a feature that becomes a product which becomes a company. The Outlook plugin could be the tip of a much bigger spear. I have never used xobni b/c I don't use outlook but I can see a bunch of possible directions for them. Who knows though? Maybe it is a minor feature. But anyone in a startup knows enough to know how little they know about the inner workings of another company. And anyone who's tried to raise money knows how thoroughly you have to explain your long term plans and revenue models. If you can't say I'm going to be a $100 million dollar company in X years b/c of Y and Z reasons, you're not going to get a series A. You'd also know that $20 million is a small offer after a series A.
- greatapps 18y agoRe your point on having to thoroughly explain your revenue model to investors, there are some VCs/investors who are happy to let this emerge, odd as that may sound. For instance, I believe that Fred Wilson [of A VC blog fame] has commented along these lines about his investment in Twitter. In some of these instances, the plan appears to be to focus on building a large active user base, preferably one that gets "locked in" via a network effect and then figuring out how to monetise. I am interested to hear about the "bunch of possible directions" you can see. Can you elaborate?
- utnick 18y agoRegarding what xobni has in store.... couldnt u just then sell the outlook plugin for 20 mil then start on your real big idea in a couple years with 20 mil in the bank
- wanorris 18y ago1. There's a good chance that at that multiple the VCs get the bulk of the money. 2. A deal with Microsoft almost certainly requires them to come on board at Microsoft for some period of time. 3. A deal might include a noncompete for after they leave. It really does depend on what the terms of the deal on the table were.
- mattmaroon 18y agoYou can bet any amount of money you like that VCs have enough say to nix an acquisition.