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Yes, good for him if the wholly speculative scenario I described is true. What's going on with Matt and WordPress will have zero impact on other founders.

chiefalchemist 2y ago
So you're saying no other investor(s) - which btw Matt / Automattic has - anywhere are going to be concerned about what leverage they have if the founder goes sideways? That's naive at best. Plenty of investors are already asking "Can I get f*ked like this?" And going forward investors will be sure not to be exposed unnecessarily. Zero impact? That's silly. Investors what high returns and lowest possible risk. Matt has made single founder with too much control high risk. Yes, this has f*ked other investment-seeking founders. Full stop.
- FreakLegion 2y ago
  No, it hasn't. I'm a founder. I have investors. Nobody serious is asking these questions, for reasons that make perfect sense when you're familiar with the mechanics of venture investing and corporate governance. I won't say nobody is asking questions at all, because "investor" is a loosey-goosey term and there are plenty of people writing small checks who call themselves investors. But those people never had leverage anyway. Investors get preferred shares with no voting rights (or even information rights!). The only ones who have any power are round leads, whose board seats are enshrined in the company's articles of incorporation. If -- and again, it's a big if -- Matt, after raising a billion dollars across many funding rounds, still controls a majority of the voting shares and board seats, it's because Automattic was already so successful that he's been able to dictate terms every step of the way. This is stupendously rare. It's not a situation that applies to other startups, or that investors are measurably worried about.
  - chiefalchemist 2y ago
    Your investors are fools then. I can not imagine writing a cheque for anything above $999 and not ensuring I have some sort of protection against this type of sideways. Frankly, if my investors weren't now concerned I'd be concerned about the quality of my investors. It's not a win to say they're not comcerned.

chiefalchemist 2y ago

So you're saying no other investor(s) - which btw Matt / Automattic has - anywhere are going to be concerned about what leverage they have if the founder goes sideways? That's naive at best. Plenty of investors are already asking "Can I get f*ked like this?" And going forward investors will be sure not to be exposed unnecessarily. Zero impact? That's silly. Investors what high returns and lowest possible risk. Matt has made single founder with too much control high risk. Yes, this has f*ked other investment-seeking founders. Full stop.

FreakLegion 2y ago
No, it hasn't. I'm a founder. I have investors. Nobody serious is asking these questions, for reasons that make perfect sense when you're familiar with the mechanics of venture investing and corporate governance. I won't say nobody is asking questions at all, because "investor" is a loosey-goosey term and there are plenty of people writing small checks who call themselves investors. But those people never had leverage anyway. Investors get preferred shares with no voting rights (or even information rights!). The only ones who have any power are round leads, whose board seats are enshrined in the company's articles of incorporation. If -- and again, it's a big if -- Matt, after raising a billion dollars across many funding rounds, still controls a majority of the voting shares and board seats, it's because Automattic was already so successful that he's been able to dictate terms every step of the way. This is stupendously rare. It's not a situation that applies to other startups, or that investors are measurably worried about.
- chiefalchemist 2y ago
  Your investors are fools then. I can not imagine writing a cheque for anything above $999 and not ensuring I have some sort of protection against this type of sideways. Frankly, if my investors weren't now concerned I'd be concerned about the quality of my investors. It's not a win to say they're not comcerned.