3 ms·

Now how about something about their relationship with the venture capitalist, Gustavo Fring? The efforts they had to go to in order to convince him that they we

by beat 13y ago

Now how about something about their relationship with the venture capitalist, Gustavo Fring? The efforts they had to go to in order to convince him that they were personally trustworthy, his nefarious plans to steal their IP and put them out of business, etc?

alanctgardner2 13y ago
I would actually contrast Fring, the bootstrapper, with Heisenberg, the VC-funded startup. It's clear in the fifth season that Fring had slow growth and scaled his operations gradually, while the newcomers just keep throwing money at the problems. They were agile, but they had very little runway, and they had to keep raising rounds (from Tuco, then Fring) to keep the lights on.
- beat 13y ago
  So Fring is more of an angel investor? Nah, the level of control he exerts more correctly reflects a VC (or maybe a buyout).
  - alanctgardner2 13y ago
    Actually, it seems like Fring's bootstrapped company acqui-hires Heisenberg's, but he's not content to be a manager or COO. It's kind of like how Monty sold out to Sun, only to turn around and build the same project again. Only he didn't blow anyone up, which may have been a big misstep.
kevinmchugh 13y ago
Fring acqui-hired Walt. He built a business for distribution and sales, then acquired the competing company for their brand and talent. (Fring ostensibly had a cook pre-walt, but it's never addressed). He gave Walt a salary instead of ownership. He saw that Walt was a bad cultural fit, and intended to replace him with Gale. Once Fring was gone, Walt and Jesse went back into business, selling their product to Declan, who only had a distribution and sales organization, and, unlike Fring, was not focused on vertical integration. The metaphor doesn't work around equity, non-competes, etc., unless you know a start-up that uses violence instead of legal documents and arbitration.
- itsybitsycoder 13y ago
  Fring's cook pre-Walt was Gale. When Gale saw the quality of Walt's cook he told Fring there was no way they could compete with that level of expertise.

by beat 13y ago

alanctgardner2 13y ago

I would actually contrast Fring, the bootstrapper, with Heisenberg, the VC-funded startup. It's clear in the fifth season that Fring had slow growth and scaled his operations gradually, while the newcomers just keep throwing money at the problems. They were agile, but they had very little runway, and they had to keep raising rounds (from Tuco, then Fring) to keep the lights on.

beat 13y ago
So Fring is more of an angel investor? Nah, the level of control he exerts more correctly reflects a VC (or maybe a buyout).
- alanctgardner2 13y ago
  Actually, it seems like Fring's bootstrapped company acqui-hires Heisenberg's, but he's not content to be a manager or COO. It's kind of like how Monty sold out to Sun, only to turn around and build the same project again. Only he didn't blow anyone up, which may have been a big misstep.

kevinmchugh 13y ago

Fring acqui-hired Walt. He built a business for distribution and sales, then acquired the competing company for their brand and talent. (Fring ostensibly had a cook pre-walt, but it's never addressed). He gave Walt a salary instead of ownership. He saw that Walt was a bad cultural fit, and intended to replace him with Gale. Once Fring was gone, Walt and Jesse went back into business, selling their product to Declan, who only had a distribution and sales organization, and, unlike Fring, was not focused on vertical integration. The metaphor doesn't work around equity, non-competes, etc., unless you know a start-up that uses violence instead of legal documents and arbitration.

itsybitsycoder 13y ago
Fring's cook pre-Walt was Gale. When Gale saw the quality of Walt's cook he told Fring there was no way they could compete with that level of expertise.