Backstabbing and lying are the cornerstone of the startup system. People shouldn't be shocked when there's money on the line. Sad but true.
In what way does that make them different from non-billionaires?
The founders probably had the intent to stay independent, they changed their minds.
The employees got a salary to work on a mass email product. Now they are continuing to do the same.
This is just normal business, not a shift in principles.
If they were working at a public green energy foundation dedicated to open source science, and then were bought by Exxon and everything privatized, then this would be a different story.
I'll bet most employees don't really care that much as long as they keep their jobs and working conditions.
Well, I guess that’s that then. We might as well get rid of human ethics and morals, trust based systems, and justice.
Apparently, capitalism and the love of money is all we need!
In my experience these values are invoked when sums involved are not life altering.
As the saying goes if you owe $5000 to a bank then the bank owns you but if you owe $500MM then you own the bank.
The answer is not always to give up and support unethical behavior.
Yes, that’s exactly what is happening here - and the criticism is from the employees who were lied to.
> accepting below market pay is you may later regret it
While they might’ve been paid market value, it is still quite disingenuous to deny equity and preach an independent vision. And then using the work done by employees to sellout for a massive payday.