The oddest thing in startup theater is the celebratory acquihire Medium post. The founders, investors, employees, and everyone surrounding it knows that it was a bad outcome, but the announcement is triumphant, so congratulations pour in from friends & bystanders. Brutal.
-
Admittedly no acquihires are good for investors, but some are good for founders; some include quite rich terms.
I'm happy when a startup gets acquihired. It's always a failing startup, so the investors were never going to get anything anyway. At least this way the founders get something.
-
-
Isn't acquihire always a way to circumvent the economics of actual equity ownership and disproportionately direct deal value towards founders? What do you think about rounds having non-compete clause barring founders from joining acquirers?
-
Usually, but in startup investing all the money is in the successes, so investors shouldn't care. Such clauses would be evil.
- Show replies
New conversation -
-
-
I got the impression that lots of "deep tech" startups -- DeepMind say -- are definite acquihire plays from the get go. Is this just wrong or unmentionable?
-
No investor would knowingly back such a thing. And I honestly think few founders are hoping for it either.
- Show replies
New conversation -
-
-
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.