4 ms·

Anyone got even one example of a startup "coming back" from the "I can't pay my employees" hole ?

by Murkin 13y ago

dherken 13y ago
There is no coming back your employees will leave promptly.
Indyan 13y ago
Here are two instances I recently came across: 1. Pandora - http://it-jobs.fins.com/Articles/SB129683674636383261/Pandora-Paid-No-Salaries-for-Two-Years-Considered-Gambling-to-Survive http://it-jobs.fins.com/Articles/SB129683674636383261/Pandor... 2. ThatGameCompany (Journey) - http://www.destructoid.com/journey-took-thatgamecompany-into-bankruptcy-244311.phtml http://www.destructoid.com/journey-took-thatgamecompany-into...
elviejo 13y ago
Apple when they moved out of the garage..
- elviejo 13y ago
  Fedex when the founder gambled in vegas in order to pay employees.
  - sokoloff 13y ago
    It was to pay a jet fuel bill to keep the planes flying.
lonnyk 13y ago
Blogger. IIRC from Founders at Work[1] book the company was on its last legs and everyone, even a co-founder, left. The only person left was Ev Williams and eventually figured out how to grow and make some rev. and ultimately sell to Google. [1] http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001C30BH6/ref=oh_d__o04_details_o04__i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001C30BH6/ref=oh_d__o04_de...
- lonnyk 13y ago
  Wikipedia[1] says I remembered correctly. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyra_Labs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyra_Labs
hga 13y ago
Lisp Machines Inc. (LMI) in 1982 as I recall. While negotiating with TI for an investment, for 2 months we were told our monthly paychecks had been cut but were stored in the safe; working was of course optional. For whatever reasons (I could afford it and Lisp was (and still is) something of a crusade for me), we continued working and got those paychecks when TI made their investment. (They were sufficiently serious they also bought Western Digital's workstation unit; LMI's processor was a 4 card system that plugged into its NuBus and used the rest of the system's infrastructure.) Can't source it, but as I recall Nolan Bushnell said you aren't a real entrepreneur until you've made a payroll out of your credit cards....
fduran 13y ago
Intuit. " By 1985 the company was struggling to stay afloat. Three employees left when Cook and Proulx became unable to pay salaries. The other four, still believing in their product, kept working for six months without any pay." http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/intuit-inc-history/ http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/intuit-inc-...

Anyone got even one example of a startup "coming back" from the "I can't pay my employees" hole ?

by Murkin 13y ago

Anyone got even one example of a startup "coming back" from the "I can't pay my employees" hole ?

dherken 13y ago

There is no coming back your employees will leave promptly.

Indyan 13y ago

Here are two instances I recently came across: 1. Pandora - http://it-jobs.fins.com/Articles/SB129683674636383261/Pandora-Paid-No-Salaries-for-Two-Years-Considered-Gambling-to-Survive http://it-jobs.fins.com/Articles/SB129683674636383261/Pandor... 2. ThatGameCompany (Journey) - http://www.destructoid.com/journey-took-thatgamecompany-into-bankruptcy-244311.phtml http://www.destructoid.com/journey-took-thatgamecompany-into...

elviejo 13y ago

Apple when they moved out of the garage..

elviejo 13y ago
Fedex when the founder gambled in vegas in order to pay employees.
- sokoloff 13y ago
  It was to pay a jet fuel bill to keep the planes flying.

lonnyk 13y ago

Blogger. IIRC from Founders at Work[1] book the company was on its last legs and everyone, even a co-founder, left. The only person left was Ev Williams and eventually figured out how to grow and make some rev. and ultimately sell to Google. [1] http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001C30BH6/ref=oh_d__o04_details_o04__i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001C30BH6/ref=oh_d__o04_de...

lonnyk 13y ago
Wikipedia[1] says I remembered correctly. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyra_Labs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyra_Labs

hga 13y ago

Lisp Machines Inc. (LMI) in 1982 as I recall. While negotiating with TI for an investment, for 2 months we were told our monthly paychecks had been cut but were stored in the safe; working was of course optional. For whatever reasons (I could afford it and Lisp was (and still is) something of a crusade for me), we continued working and got those paychecks when TI made their investment. (They were sufficiently serious they also bought Western Digital's workstation unit; LMI's processor was a 4 card system that plugged into its NuBus and used the rest of the system's infrastructure.) Can't source it, but as I recall Nolan Bushnell said you aren't a real entrepreneur until you've made a payroll out of your credit cards....

fduran 13y ago

Intuit. " By 1985 the company was struggling to stay afloat. Three employees left when Cook and Proulx became unable to pay salaries. The other four, still believing in their product, kept working for six months without any pay." http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/intuit-inc-history/ http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/intuit-inc-...