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Color Labs And Bill Nguyen Sued By Ex-Employee Alleging Retaliation
- jfb 14y agoAnd here I've been trying to get my Schadenfreude under control ...
- pyre 14y agoReminds me of this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WAwuSK36Gw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WAwuSK36Gw "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffin' glue." I wonder if that dates me, or if "Airplane!" is a movie that is still relatively well-known with a younger crowd. </off-topic>
- moocow01 14y agoIts probably NSFW but items 18, 31, 32, 33, 44, 45, 47, 49, 81, 98, 100 are pretty enlightening about the behavior of Bill Nguyen (I guess I should add 'if true')... very sad.
- brianchu 14y agoEverything except #100 seems pretty safe (for work, at least). Worst is there's some swearing. #33 seems pretty plausible: http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/21/color-targets-new-facebook-powered-app-exclusively-to-harvard-students-says-harvard-student/ http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/21/color-targets-new-facebook-.... EDIT: added clarification. If you read the parent post, the parent post claims that the points are "not safe for work." I was merely saying that reading the thing would probably be safe for work. Snark is really not necessary.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- tlrobinson 14y agoPretty sure the parent comments were just arguing about whether reading the complaint was SFW. Obviously a lot of what's described in the complaint isn't appropriate workplace behavior.
- codewright 14y agoThe gun parts in 44 and 47 are strange and don't seem to have much meaning except to enhance the perceived threat of the actual threats which are mostly legal/non-violent/career-centric in nature.
- ajross 14y agoThe allegation is apparently that Nguyen invited someone into the office environment, with a visible weapon, and called attention to that. That would certainly seem to constitute a "threat" to most people. I don't really see why you wouldn't think so. I'm going to guess that you feel this is an infringement on "Dunphy's" right to carry that gun. It's not. The right to bear arms doesn't extend to the unrestricted ability to use them as a means of intimidation.
- codewright 14y ago
- revelation 14y agoBrilliant purchase there, Apple. The concept of meritocracy is well and alive. I can't imagine why they would break-even the VCs that had so clearly failed in fulfilling their role as board members. They could probably have easily snagged all the engineers, given the dysfunctional work environment and well ... failure.
- sriramk 14y agoI suspect it is way cheaper to buy an engineering team (and IP/patents in this case?) as a unit rather than chase every engineering hire separately and try and construct a team afterwards.
- cwb71 14y agoIn ¶ 64 it says that “there was no space in Patrice Gaultier’s [sic] group at Apple for Witherspoon.” According to https://www.linkedin.com/pub/patrice-gautier/0/14/139 https://www.linkedin.com/pub/patrice-gautier/0/14/139, Patrice Gautier is VP of Engineering, iTunes Store and iCloud. So maybe that is where those engineers will turn up…
- macspoofing 14y agoDid Apple actually buy Color Labs?
- GuiA 14y agoFrom the TC article: "One key thing to note is that the suit says that Color’s assets have indeed been sold to Apple, something that has not been confirmed on the record by either company to date. Witherspoon claims in his suit that he was the only technical employee at Color who was blocked from joining Apple in October. Today, Color’s website notes that its app will no longer be available after December 31st, 2012."
- hkmurakami 14y agoI wonder if this suit will be enough to derail the acquisition...
- simplekoala 14y agoThere are also direct allegations on the Board ( except Doug Leone) that they were complacent, and did nothing in spite of being privy to all the alleged shenanigans of Bill Nguyen. This is serious stuff.
- jessedhillon 14y agoWorse than nothing, they compromised the integrity of their investigation by leaking allegations and identifying the source of the claims. (Allegedly, per items ~48-54, and 67-68)
- mbesto 14y agoOutsiders perspective - SV culture is becoming more and more just like Wall Street. Sad.
- dannyr 14y agoThis is ONE startup out of 100s in Silicon Valley.
- mkr-hn 14y agoPeople were falling over themselves to sing the praises of Color when it came out.
- dannyr 14y agoPraises? Color was vilified in the Valley because of their excessive funding. Care to show proof of people praising Color?
- mkr-hn 14y agoThe vilification was a response to the fountains of praise before it launched. I didn't think to keep links handy.
- dannyr 14y agoPraise before it launched? Can you mention what they praised about Color? I live in Silicon Valley and plugged in to the startup community. I don't know anybody who praised Color. Their app on both Android and iOS was horrible.
- _delirium 14y agoDepends perhaps on whether you count the Valley press and venture capitalists as part of the Valley community. Obviously the VCs were praising it: Sequoia and others put a huge pile of cash into Color. And the Valley press was breathless over them too, with TechCrunch publishing this prelaunch article: http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/23/color-looks-to-reinvent-social-interaction-with-its-mobile-photo-app-and-41-million-in-funding/ http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/23/color-looks-to-reinvent-soc...
- wyclif 14y agoCue DHH tweetbombs.
- hkmurakami 14y agoBill Nguyen seems like a relatively young guy who would seem to have more punches left in him in the form of starting more companies. But given these allegations, are investors actually going to back him in the future? Maybe this is just who I am, but if I were a VC, I'd have serious reservations about investing in a man who has demonstrated serious character issues and is known to create a dysfunctional corporate culture. In fact, I would never invest in anyone who bullies or torments their team members no matter how much of a track record he has. I wonder if thinking like this automatically disqualifies me from ever acting in such a capacity.
- droithomme 14y agoNot just bullying employees, but the suit outlines Nguyen going to great lengths stalking and plotting against Witherspoon's children, in ways that left a massive paper and witness trail and are quite verifiable if true.
- swohns 14y agoStartups may be famous for not punishing failure, but I think this is such an exceptional case that I don't see the same rules applying here. I would not trust someone who squandered this much wealth, and certainly would not trust them if any of these allegations are even remotely true.
- hkmurakami 14y agoI think there are two failures here: (1) business failure, and (2) moral failure. Sometimes (1) is just out of our control, but (2) is fully within our control. To me, moral failure is a bigger red flag in giving me signals about the individual.
- rhizome 14y agoCapital is amoral.
- hkmurakami 14y ago
- nlh 14y agoA fascinating read, for sure, but do take the accusations with a hefty grain of salt. As an employer who has dealt with his share of totally-irrational employees in the past, I've learned never to believe everything you read in an employee complaint/lawsuit -- especially when there is so much personal animosity/family stuff going on here. That being said - I emphasize that I've learned never to believe _everything_ you read. Not anything :) I'd be willing to bet at least parts of this are based in truth.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- iamtherockstar 14y agoRight. The mob mentality of the internet often jumps to conclusions when accusations are leveled like this. We have defense attorneys and such for a reason. If these accusations are true, let's get some evidence and a trial together. I'm willing to bet this will be settled out of court and the details will not be publicly available.
- woodchuck64 14y agoMore proof that charismatic CEOs with Narcissistic Personality Disorder are bad for business. Don't be blinded by charisma. http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2012/01/11/why-narcissistic-ceos-kill-their-companies/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2012/01/11/why-narci...
- k-mcgrady 14y agoObviously we can't be certain all or any of this is true, but if it is the board members should be ashamed of themselves. Failing to act for so long on the reports against Nguyen as employees were fired for standing up to him, and giving the guy a free pass because of his past successes is despicable. I think it also shows some failings in employment legislation. His ability to apparently fire people at will wouldn't be possible in many other countries.
- namank 14y agoOnly difference between "firing" and "getting to quit" is in the severance package. That said, this guy seems like he may have preferred firing over getting employee to quit.
- coffeemug 14y agoIn or around late 2011, [then Color CFO Alyssa] Solomon began noticing discrepancies in Color’s finances. Upon information and belief, Defendant Nguyen was spending corporate funds on numerous personal items, such as charging personal items on Color’s American Express card and putting his family’s nanny, Sally Orr, and his family’s Lake Tahoe‐based ski instructor, Hillary Governer, on Color’s payroll. If this is actually true, this is a Really Big Deal (tm). The IRS (and relevant legislation) is very serious about these things, and I can't imagine anyone running a high profile company who has a career at stake actually doing this of their own accord. This isn't just about ethics. It's an allegation of embezzlement, which carries a penalty of imprisonment for up to twenty years(!) Doing that to save some money on a nanny seems absolutely insane to me.
- 001sky 14y agoDoing that to save some money on a nanny seems absolutely insane to me -- Or just: "hubristic" [1] ________________ [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubris http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubris *Hubris (/ˈhjuːbrɪs/), also hybris, from ancient Greek ὕβρις, means extreme pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power.
- skrebbel 14y agoWell, he did after all spend $35M-ish on what can really only be described as a very special hobby. I guess he figured that adding a nanny to top it off wouldn't make a difference.
- raverbashing 14y agoI'm not sure about the legality of it But the ethical aspects, together with the crash and burn of Color are hopefully more than enough for him not to get a single penny out of VCs any more There are lots of serious people out there looking for funding, save the investments for them instead for the loud bozos
- rhizome 14y ago
- neurotech1 14y agoAccording to the legal papers, Bill Nguyen had a friend who is an OIG Agent (apparently with the US Postal Service) involved. That sounds kind of fishy, as generally those agents investigate internal matters, not external law enforcement. The US Postal Inspection Service deals with most outside matters like postal fraud. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Inspection_Service http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Inspection...
- cwb71 14y agoWhy is it fishy? I am sure this agent will testify that he is a personal friend of Nguyen, that he stopped by the Color office to meet with his friend about a personal matter, and that he knows nothing about the company's bizarre office politics.
- rdl 14y agoI'm curious what department this guy was Dunphy guy was in the OIG office of -- OIG isn't an agency, it's a role within larger agencies (like the internal police for each department of government, the equivalent of internal affairs in a PD). I have zero problems with firearms, but if the guy was breaking the law, using official status, etc. to help his friend, that I have a problem with, and I imagine any agency would as well.
- cwb71 14y agoBased on the document located at http://www.nalcbayarea.com/PDF%20Files/Rong%20Arbitration.pdf http://www.nalcbayarea.com/PDF%20Files/Rong%20Arbitration.pd..., it looks like as of 2007 Corey Dunphy was a Special Agent of the United States Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General.