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Ask HN: Sell my startup for $14M because I can't raise $2M?

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Re: Ask HN: Sell my startup for $14M because I can't raise $2M?

#301

Post by bartread »

sjg007 wrote: post #201
karthikb wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not just door to door time, but schedule flexibility. Not every route has a direct flight, multiple flights per day, etc. Many people schedule meetings to end right before they have to leave for the airport and catch the last flight back home for another important meeting the next day. Would prefer that someone making decisions impacting the livelihoods of thousands of people each day is focused on the issue at…

Because video conferencing is so 1990s

Because video conferencing, at least the kind that most of us can afford without specialist equipment, is still annoyingly unreliable in 2017.

Not saying every meeting has technical issues, or even most of them, but some do and finding a technology that everyone who needs to be in the meeting can use given different corporate standards is a PITA.

It's still also no substitute for meeting face to face over the long term.

Re: Ask HN: Sell my startup for $14M because I can't raise $2M?

#303

Post by user5994461 »

Obi_Juan_Kenobi wrote: post #274
nugget wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's pretend someone has arrived upon 14 million in after tax net worth (not the case in OP's scenario). You want to be set "forever" and not dependent on working again. You'll probably work, but may not be able to replicate the same financial success you experienced previously, so it's hard to count on future income. There's a debate around what's called the "Safe Withdrawal Rate" which is financial-market speak fo…

> You'll end up with about $320k after tax to spend. Not bad. But not what most people think about as rich, either. I think that's firmly in what people consider to be rich, and certainly is by any reasonable metric. I may not be 'jet rich', but that's an incomprehensible amount money for 99% of the people on this planet.

99.99% of people don't pay SF/NYC/LON/HK rent.

Re: Ask HN: Sell my startup for $14M because I can't raise $2M?

#304

Post by indymike »

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #294
perilunar wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's bad enough that a few years ago here people were complaining that they would do a Show HN submission, and find a few weeks after that someone had taken their mostly completed idea, assigned a whole team of cheap developers to it and executed on it not only faster, but better. Is this still a problem? Don’t PG and others say not to be afraid of others stealing ideas, and that ideas are worth little, and that it…

Yeah, I used to be really afraid of sharing my ideas until I finally started my own company. Ideas are cheap. Building a company is hard work. It takes a good idea and a passionate team to create something great. Sure you run a chance of someone taking your idea. But are they more dedicated and passionate about it than you? If so, you're in the wrong business. Better to find out sooner, tbh.

If you have an idea that someone can read a blog post and then replicate, the idea isn't sophisticated enough or you probably just shouldn't write that blog post.

Re: Ask HN: Sell my startup for $14M because I can't raise $2M?

#305

Post by yesimahuman »

You could also pivot into something else. Here’s why: you’re not even at $1M ARR despite seeming to have a compelling business and early traction. It’s not “hard” to get there, which means investors see many companies there and beyond for seed. If this sale locks you up for a few years that’s a huge opportunity cost. I can tell you that I’ve personally witnessed major value changes in less time. I don’t regret saying no to local maximum acquisitions (~20M) in the early days because 1) I didn’t do this just to sell 2) I was confident we could be much more valuable, I just didn’t know what was possible. I was righh!

Though if you’re a sole shareholder or own a significant chunk of the company, $14M really is a lot. There’s a post out there showing how, for example, Arrington made more than Huffington on their respective sales despite Huffington Post selling for way more. Something to think about...

Finally, you’re in the drivers seat when it comes to customers. Something not scaling? Refuse to do it. You’d be surprised what wiggle room you can get when the buyer is motivated.

Re: Ask HN: Sell my startup for $14M because I can't raise $2M?

#307

Post by codingdave »

mseebach wrote: post #116
alain94040 wrote: post #4

Owning 100% of $14M is better than owning 10% of a $100M exit after 5 more years of hard work.

You'll have gone through some pretty insane fundraising rounds and extreme growth then near-collapse to pull those numbers off. Raising 2M at 14M puts the OP's stake at 87.5%. Long long way to 10%.

You are arguing over the wrong details -- taking anything percentage of anything right now is worth more than owning no percentage of a failed startup many years from now. Because if he can't raise money, and can't support the growth without money, that is really what we are talking about here.

Re: Ask HN: Sell my startup for $14M because I can't raise $2M?

#308

Post by CalChris »

senatorobama wrote: post #278
CalChris wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For about 10 years. Less so for another 5. Then not at all.

I'm about 3 years into my career. Should I focus on developing my technical or interpersonal skills?

What you think are technical skills is just currency. Your in depth knowledge of this stack or that toolchain will doom you to maintenance when that currency is discarded for the new new.

Your interpersonal skills are tied to your cohort.

Re: Ask HN: Sell my startup for $14M because I can't raise $2M?

#309

Post by tedmiston »

wheelerwj wrote: post #123
erex78 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a lot of advice on the thread saying: take the money. Given your personal situation etc. this may very well be the right choice. But you need to realize that just because you've been approached for acquisition and even if somebody tells you straight up "we want to acquire you", it sounds like you are far away from actually getting acquired. The road from casual interest to money in the bank is long and bumpy…

> Unless you actually have a term-sheet in your inbox, you aren't in the position to make this decision right now. even then, its not over till the cash is in your account.

Even then, it's not over completely if part of the cash is attached to milestones or subject to a new vesting schedule.

I've seen friends' companies acquired without them ever seeing the full "acquisition price".

Re: Ask HN: Sell my startup for $14M because I can't raise $2M?

#310

Post by a13n »

evrydayhustling wrote: post #148
GrinningFool wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Re the "know how to hustle" thing - building a successful business takes a lot of "hustle". If someone succeeds at that, they've proven that they can do it. The notion that someone needs to meet some invisible bar of proof beyond building a successful company is - to me - yet another symptom of the damage SV has inflicted on the minds of a generation of technically inclined enterpreneurs.

Which successful business are you talking about? OP's business is clearly promising, but if it needs $2M to keep going, success is clearly still ahead. For LPs trusting a VC with their cash, successful means the company growing 10x in the next seven years. That VC's conviction that the ability to hustle is between where OP is and 10x is something you could disagree about, but I'd say it's somewhat less arbitrary than…

10x? At seed stage? Try 1000x.
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