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> Zhu believed "the company were too focused on sales and money at the expense of altruistic goals". Excuse me? You're running a company with other peoples' mon

by wiz21c 6y ago

> Zhu believed "the company were too focused on sales and money at the expense of altruistic goals". Excuse me? You're running a company with other peoples' money at stake with the express understanding that you will seek to maximize their returns. A guy has a cool idea, then he needs money to make it big. Some people give the money in the hope that they will maximize their return. The fact they give money doesn't give them total power. I've been in that situation of having a cool idea with investor interested. Believe me, those with the money quickly think your idea is theirs and all of a sudden you're reduced to that : an initial idea, a starting point. As soon as money is put in, you basically don't exist anymore. I don't consider that a fair deal; it's a deal with vultures. So, yep, Zhu got my sympathy.

silexia 6y ago
If you don't want to be beholden to other people, don't take their money with the promise that you are going to dedicate yourself to increasing their investment.
_jjkk 6y ago
An investment is not a donation to your idea or cause. If you "need money to make it big" you can bootstrap, take donations, or look for investors. It's easier to raise investment than donations, because an investor expects a return in an economic/probabalistic sense(not hopes for a return) You can't have your cake and eat it too though; once you accept investment you can't cry foul when they don't sit back and act like a donor.
GCA10 6y ago
If it's a business with a clear social mission (fighting poverty; helping the environment, etc.) I'm super-sympathetic to the challenges of being an altruistic founder in a money-obsessed world. But Iterable's mission (quoting from its career page) is: "We empower growth marketers." Its products help your organization get more juice out of emails, texts, etc. That's a busine$$ -- and it's very much an area where money can be made. I'm struggling to see how this could be an altruism play, too.

by wiz21c 6y ago

silexia 6y ago

If you don't want to be beholden to other people, don't take their money with the promise that you are going to dedicate yourself to increasing their investment.

_jjkk 6y ago

An investment is not a donation to your idea or cause. If you "need money to make it big" you can bootstrap, take donations, or look for investors. It's easier to raise investment than donations, because an investor expects a return in an economic/probabalistic sense(not hopes for a return) You can't have your cake and eat it too though; once you accept investment you can't cry foul when they don't sit back and act like a donor.

GCA10 6y ago

If it's a business with a clear social mission (fighting poverty; helping the environment, etc.) I'm super-sympathetic to the challenges of being an altruistic founder in a money-obsessed world. But Iterable's mission (quoting from its career page) is: "We empower growth marketers." Its products help your organization get more juice out of emails, texts, etc. That's a busine$$ -- and it's very much an area where money can be made. I'm struggling to see how this could be an altruism play, too.