I think PG has mentioned this in an essay (and in the Founders at Work interview). They were running out of cash during the Yahoo negotiations. Edit: "It was

I think PG has mentioned this in an essay (and in the Founders at Work interview). They were running out of cash during the Yahoo negotiations. Edit: "It was really close, too. When we were visiting Yahoo to talk about being acquired, we had to interrupt everything and borrow one of their conference rooms to talk down an investor who was about to back out of a new funding round we needed to stay alive. So even in the middle of getting rich we were fighting off the grim reaper." http://www.paulgraham.com/die.html http://www.paulgraham.com/die.html