Don’t Sell Out, Foursquare. Not Now. Not To Yahoo.

Re: Don’t Sell Out, Foursquare. Not Now. Not To Yahoo. by Aetius on Monday April 19, 2010 @03:59AM (#1276298)

  You can ask your VCs to redo their term sheets and double
  the amount raised. Take half off the table and you, your
  children and their children will never want for anything
  material in their lives, even if Foursquare goes south right   
  afterwards.

He should have led off with this, point no. 5. Who cares that "Yahoo kills startups" (even tho PG's still isn't dead), as a founder my goal is to maximize my profit and my well being. I don't give a fuck about Yahoo if I'm getting $20 million out of the deal.

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Re: Don’t Sell Out, Foursquare. Not Now. Not To Yahoo. by michael_dorfman on Monday April 19, 2010 @04:21AM (#1276320)

You'd be surprised. The $20M has a very bitter aftertaste when you watch your baby getting neglected, or destroyed.

"Maximized profit" and "well being" don't always go hand-in-hand. Sometimes, it's better not to sell (or to sell to the right buyer.)

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Re: Don’t Sell Out, Foursquare. Not Now. Not To Yahoo. by ohashi on Monday April 19, 2010 @06:44AM (#1276448)

Perhaps you should keep in perspective that people didn't give you all that money for YOUR well being. They gave it to you because they believed you would be able to generate large returns for them. As such, it's your duty to maximize their investments as well as your own. Of course, if you believe what you're creating is changing the world and cannot detach, you shouldn't be selling.

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Re: Don’t Sell Out, Foursquare. Not Now. Not To Yahoo. by michael_dorfman on Monday April 19, 2010 @07:16AM (#1276479)

Of course, if you believe what you're creating is changing the world and cannot detach, you shouldn't be selling.

It's rarely so black and white. I'm suggesting that if you are selling, you should make sure that either a) the buyer's vision coincides reasonably well with your own, or b) you're sure you'll be satisfied walking away (or getting pushed out).

I speak from experience.

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Re: Don’t Sell Out, Foursquare. Not Now. Not To Yahoo. by revorad on Monday April 19, 2010 @06:06AM (#1276411)

Interesting to hear that from someone who has sold a company.

I find it really sad and ironic that although the YC mantra is "Make something people want", some founders think nothing of selling to a big corporation even if it means screwing their users.

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