(FYI This took so long because of some bad wifi) We had been making these arrangements for the last six months. edit: As for why I didn't leave earlier. Ther

(FYI This took so long because of some bad wifi) We had been making these arrangements for the last six months. edit: As for why I didn't leave earlier. There's the obvious carrot, but frankly, the 'stick' wasn't that bad. I operated almost identically as during our startup days (no oversight, no one to get approval) and with that kind of freedom (compared to my last job, in a parking garage where I had to ask to use the bathroom), doing work that I very much enjoyed, I had no good reason to leave early. Though they're not regarded as a tech-savvy company (and there's a good argument for why), Conde Nast handled us remarkably well - especially through the lens of how most post-acquisition stories go. Ultimately, though, it's hard to reproduce the feeling and attachment that comes with starting a startup (or starting anything of one's own). And that's why it felt like the right time to move on when my contract ended.