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Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by yolo2122 on Friday December 27, 2024 @03:40PM (#42525841)
Founder/Former CEO Ian Crosby's post about the Bench closure:

https://x.com/ianwcrosby/status/1872724231999381790

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by davidcbc on Friday December 27, 2024 @04:48PM (#42526355)
Is there a version readable for people without twitter accounts?
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by tarr11 on Friday December 27, 2024 @05:01PM (#42526471)
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by ckrailo on Friday December 27, 2024 @08:35PM (#42527779)
Swap the domain of the URL with nitter.poast.org

https://nitter.poast.org/ianwcrosby/status/18727242319993817...

More about nitter: https://github.com/zedeus/nitter

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by Tanoc on Saturday December 28, 2024 @01:36AM (#42529084)
Nitter's been dead for about a year at this point. I'm pretty sure any Nitter instance still running is using some abstract method and not the actual Nitter system.
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by coldtrait on Saturday December 28, 2024 @01:57AM (#42529159)
Yea I don't think there's an alternative after Elon made changes to Twitter's API
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by joshuahedlund on Saturday December 28, 2024 @07:45AM (#42530678)
I don’t know how they do it but xcancel works pretty good

https://xcancel.com/ianwcrosby/status/1872724231999381790

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by KomoD on Saturday December 28, 2024 @10:12AM (#42531583)
It's the same Nitter, but using real accounts instead of the "guest accounts" that were used previously.

"Guest accounts" were accounts you could generate to access Twitter without actually signing up, but then Elon Musk killed them so then Nitter was basically declared dead because most people don't want to spend time making tons of actual accounts to run a Nitter instance and then Elon Musk also made the ratelimits stricter so you needed even more accounts.

Some of the bigger Nitter instances used thousands of guest accounts.

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by cebert on Friday December 27, 2024 @09:32PM (#42528069)
It’s not like it’s hard to get a Twitter account
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by bdangubic on Friday December 27, 2024 @09:41PM (#42528121)
this is a joke, right? who the F would want to create an “X” account these days?! crazy talk :)
[dead]
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by bdangubic on Friday December 27, 2024 @10:34PM (#42528347)
“hating elon” :) only fucking idiots care about “elon” (especially enough to hate him). if your life is so empty you have to talk about elon you need to re-evaluate your life choices
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by jrflowers on Friday December 27, 2024 @10:53PM (#42528419)
> if your life is so empty you have to talk about elon you need to re-evaluate your life choices

This post, that you’ve typed up and posted online, for all to see, is about your opinion of Elon Musk

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by Dylan16807 on Friday December 27, 2024 @11:11PM (#42528482)
It is not.
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by jrflowers on Friday December 27, 2024 @11:13PM (#42528494)
Yes it is. If they had written “if you’re posting about hamburgers you need to reevaluate your life” that would be a post expressing their opinion about hamburgers.
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by Dylan16807 on Saturday December 28, 2024 @12:44AM (#42528894)
No, it would not be. Their opinion about Z and their opinion about people that care too much about Z are different things.

Your post above is a failed attempt at a petty gotcha.

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by jrflowers on Saturday December 28, 2024 @10:11PM (#42537132)
> Your post above is a failed attempt at a petty gotcha.

Aside from the poster I was talking to not appearing to agree with you (they immediately made another Elon post), no, it isn’t. If upon seeing the phrase “I don’t like hamburger” I am swept up with an urge to dunk and say “re evaluate your life choices for talking about hamburger” it is very obvious that I’ve taken my time to tell you that I have strong feelings about hamburger and take issue with the position taken, not the subject matter.

Seeing as they then wrote “elon hate is real” moments after my response, it is doubly clear that the issue isn’t mention of the guy but rather any negative mention of the guy.

If I go out of my way to police any negative mention of something, that is a direct expression of how I value that thing.

(The post has since been edited to “obsession with elon is real”, which, yes, it is. Some folks absolutely cannot scroll past that name without it sparking an urge to dunk)

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by bdangubic on Friday December 27, 2024 @11:15PM (#42528508)
obsession with elon is real… :)
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by jrflowers on Friday December 27, 2024 @11:17PM (#42528523)
This post too
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by LightBug1 on Saturday December 28, 2024 @05:36AM (#42530034)
I'll re-sign up to that shithole when hell freezes over. You're welcome.
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by Banditoz on Saturday December 28, 2024 @11:11AM (#42532001)
Nitter also offers better UX for those who just want to read a Twitter thread and not interact with it. It's been like that even before the Musk acquisition.
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by LightBug1 on Saturday December 28, 2024 @03:55PM (#42534642)
Thanks, does nitter still work? Thought it was running into trouble so used xcancel with ok results.

However, I've found that 'the only winning move has been not to play'. Anytime I venture back it's like my psyche entering the matrix and always coming off worse.

I repeat, it really is a ... anyway.

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by joshuahedlund on Saturday December 28, 2024 @07:45AM (#42530679)
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by blackeyeblitzar on Saturday December 28, 2024 @09:48PM (#42536996)
I used to use a site called Nitter for the same reason, but it stopped working. I think X/Twitter changed something.
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by vednig on Monday December 30, 2024 @02:50AM (#42547399)
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by ttul on Friday December 27, 2024 @06:11PM (#42526933)
I advise caution in believing his statements to be true, particularly about Bench’s board and investors. The truth will live in their financial statements, which no doubt will be revealed in bankruptcy proceedings in the coming months.
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by iwcrosby on Friday December 27, 2024 @06:33PM (#42527077)
Ian Crosby here. If you don't believe me, believe the CEO of Shopify who was an investor and partner: https://x.com/tobi/status/1872753436116332994
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by edoceo on Friday December 27, 2024 @07:08PM (#42527301)
That tweet doesn't say anything meaningful. Just big-mad the CEO was replaced. Don't mean shit.

ETA: every good ship can get a new captain and sail on. If not, the problem isn't the sailors it's the captain (who set the ship before the fall).

CEO has failed the crew. To Davey Jones with you!

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by patrickhogan1 on Friday December 27, 2024 @08:07PM (#42527646)
Bad investors and a dysfunctional board can destroy a company. When late-stage investors push to fire the CEO, they often do so to install a puppet CEO who will give them greater control over the board. This allows them to prioritize financial decisions that serve their own interests, often at the expense of other shareholders, such as early employees, whom they disregard.
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by benatkin on Friday December 27, 2024 @08:44PM (#42527831)
This in the response made me cringe a little:

> I wanted to continue with what was working and with what our partners had signed on to distribute.

How does he know it was working? He says it so matter of factly.

And that’s what this big-mad comes down to.

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by patrickhogan1 on Friday December 27, 2024 @09:28PM (#42528053)
You make a fair point. I would have liked him to elaborate more on the potential acquisition that was declined.

However, he mentioned they just raised $60 million. If his approach wasn’t working, why would anyone invest that amount? And if the plan was to fire him, given that his vote was required, wouldn’t it have been more transparent to say upfront: “If you reject the acquisition and opt for this $60 million investment instead, we’re going to fire you”?

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by IAmGraydon on Friday December 27, 2024 @08:52PM (#42527867)
How does he know? He was the CEO. I'm guessing that he had access to the company's metrics.
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by benatkin on Friday December 27, 2024 @09:16PM (#42527979)
Metrics alone don't tell you if a strategy is working in the long term. It was no doubt a highly informed opinion, but still an opinion.
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by boxed on Friday December 27, 2024 @07:34PM (#42527456)
> every good ship can get a new captain and sail on. If not, the problem isn't the sailors it's the captain (who set the ship before the fall).

You're seriously claiming a bad leader can't destroy a company/organization/project/country?

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by mbrameld on Saturday December 28, 2024 @11:02AM (#42531926)
You're arguing a different point. The old CEO claims it's his absence that caused the failure, not the presence of the new CEO. You're arguing that it's the presence of the new CEO that caused the failure. GP is pointing out that if the absence of the old CEO is what caused the company to fail as the old CEO claims, and not the actions of the new CEO, then it wasn't in good shape to start with.
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by boxed on Saturday December 28, 2024 @02:51PM (#42533965)
Ah. That's a bit more sane for sure. Although with some big caveats. A founder can be crucial for a long time, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's a tradeoff. You don't want to spend time operationalizing the business before it's stable for example. That's just a waste of time. The board very well could be mistaken on which stage the business is in.
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by edoceo on Sunday December 29, 2024 @02:55AM (#42538411)
Glad someone got it.
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by boxed on Monday December 30, 2024 @03:14AM (#42547493)
Doesn't make a ton of sense though. A bad captain can steer into the coastline and kill everyone.
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by jeanlucas on Friday December 27, 2024 @07:10PM (#42527322)
> "this is exactly what happened"

In a direct reply to the thread. Well, it is confirming the original thread.

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by thayne on Friday December 27, 2024 @08:21PM (#42527705)
> every good ship can get a new captain and sail on

If the new captain is good. But a bad captian can sink any ship, unless the crew is willing and able to mutinee to prevent it.

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by rvba on Friday December 27, 2024 @08:46PM (#42527842)
Start-ups by nature are not good ships.
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by IAmGraydon on Friday December 27, 2024 @08:52PM (#42527860)
Hi Ian. Sorry to see this happen to the company you founded. Can you say what the board's strategy was that conflicted with your vision?
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by propter_hoc on Friday December 27, 2024 @11:44PM (#42528660)
Your statement is honestly pretty tone deaf. I understand your rancor towards the board that fired you four years ago but the news today isn't about your historical palace coup, it's about 11,000 clients and 650 employees who are currently completely fucked right before year end, and finding help for them should have been the focus of your statement.

Your termination four years ago is a footnote in the mismanagement of the company, not the pivotal moment. At best, it serves as an example that the company was mismanaged by a bad board, which was the case before, during and after your termination.

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by kstrauser on Saturday December 28, 2024 @12:55AM (#42528928)
Pray tell, how was he possibly supposed to help the customers of the company he was fired from 3 years ago?

I found his posts interesting. I was a Bench customer for several years until we sold our business, and I appreciate the background information about the bullet we dodged.

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by mcenedella on Saturday December 28, 2024 @05:27AM (#42529985)
Ian, I emailed you a couple years ago when I felt Bench had become worse and worse for customers. I was sad to discover that you’d left and I felt the difference was definitely attributable to your departure. I switched providers shortly thereafter.

So, speaking as a former customer, the tragedy and timeline you mention pass the sniff test for me. So glad your next venture has been going well for you!

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by iwcrosby on Saturday December 28, 2024 @07:33PM (#42536247)
Thanks Marc. Wishing you the best in your ventures too!
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by ttul on Sunday December 29, 2024 @01:32PM (#42541828)
I’d like to clarify - and ought to have done above - that I’m not saying you’re lying in your Tweets. Just that the story of any business failure is often more nuanced than “investors are bad”. And that story may be revealed in court filings as I’m sure creditors will be going to court to get their money back in the coming months.
Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by yolo2122 on Friday December 27, 2024 @07:51PM (#42527550)
I agree that the financial statements will be a key artifact of truth + I cannot speak to the validity of the statements made by Ian as I have no context or knowledge of Bench outside of my experience of being a long time customer.

However I can, albeit anecdotally from my perspective, say that I felt there was a marked difference in Bench's quality/service/responsiveness/performance/etc about 3yrs ago. This aligns with the timeline given by the former CEO in his post for his departure.

Re:Bench accounting services shutting down by wslh on Monday December 30, 2024 @11:08AM (#42550548)
With all due respect to the founder, it's impossible to know, even in hindsight, whether things in a startup would have been similar, better, or worse. This is not an endorsement to firing the CEO or saying that the board was capable in any way. This founder or CEO trap is more common that we think about. It is not only a Steve Jobs story. Founders know that giving equity and power to others include risks.