> its a financial service, not a software company I have no experience in the financial industry, but I work in a field which is also highly regulated (medical

> its a financial service, not a software company I have no experience in the financial industry, but I work in a field which is also highly regulated (medical devices). Failure to pass audits or be otherwise compliant to regulation can very much make the difference between having or not having any business at all. Paying of decades worth of debt in a few month where clients see no shiny new features was likely more and better service than that founder-CEO type deserved.