How an individual can leave $850M on the table to prove a point blows my mind.
I'm in awe at that guy, but I can't help but think that with $850M he could have funded so many interesting projects/research.
WhatsApp Cofounder Brian Acton on Why He Left $850M Behind
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Re: WhatsApp Cofounder Brian Acton on Why He Left $850M Behind
#12> The company is also set to charge businesses for messages they receive from potential customers via the WhatsApp platform — of between a half a penny and 9 cents, depending on the country. Didn't knew this and takes back to the outrageous SMS pricing of 10 cents per SMS. I as a consumer can change easily but it's sad to see that business will have to deal with this crap.
This won't last. Users and companies will jump ship to another platform. It is already a pain that I can't write bots on WhatsApp like I can on telegram.
Telegram's funds will run out, too.
Re: WhatsApp Cofounder Brian Acton on Why He Left $850M Behind
#13Are Matrix clients reliable and fast enough to use them? I am looking forwards to install them to my family but last time I tried they were a little bit unresponsive.
Re: WhatsApp Cofounder Brian Acton on Why He Left $850M Behind
#14This article seems a little unfair to the WhatsApp founders when it suggests they should have known that any assurances Facebook made to them as part of the acquisition were obviously lies. Sure in 2018 it might be obvious to most of us that nothing Facebook says or promises can be trusted but I don't think that was necessarily as obvious when the acquisition happened and they can be forgiven for thinking they weren'…
What year would it be ok to be naive enough to think that any for profit company’s main motivation is not to make as much money possible?
It hasn't been always true, historically, that for-profit companies seek only to enrich their shareholders at all cost.
https://www.boston.com/news/policy/2018/08/16/elizabeth-warr...
"Warren attributes those problems to a shift, which she says dates back to the 1980s, in the obligations of corporations — from balancing responsibilities to all their stakeholders — including both employees and stock owners — to prioritizing their financial return to shareholders only."
(That's not exactly responsive to your point on maximizing profit, but the body of work on this topic shows that when companies care about long-term return, and about employees and other stakeholders, they aren't solely focused on maximizing short-term profit over all else.)
Re: WhatsApp Cofounder Brian Acton on Why He Left $850M Behind
#15> The company is also set to charge businesses for messages they receive from potential customers via the WhatsApp platform — of between a half a penny and 9 cents, depending on the country. Didn't knew this and takes back to the outrageous SMS pricing of 10 cents per SMS. I as a consumer can change easily but it's sad to see that business will have to deal with this crap.
This won't last. Users and companies will jump ship to another platform. It is already a pain that I can't write bots on WhatsApp like I can on telegram.
That’s not the type of pain point that leads to a critical mass jumping messaging platforms
Re: WhatsApp Cofounder Brian Acton on Why He Left $850M Behind
#16This article seems a little unfair to the WhatsApp founders when it suggests they should have known that any assurances Facebook made to them as part of the acquisition were obviously lies. Sure in 2018 it might be obvious to most of us that nothing Facebook says or promises can be trusted but I don't think that was necessarily as obvious when the acquisition happened and they can be forgiven for thinking they weren'…
What year would it be ok to be naive enough to think that any for profit company’s main motivation is not to make as much money possible?
That's not the issue, the issue is whether assurances that were made to them, with or without some legal backing, could be trusted. Companies can be motivated by profit and still be honest.
Re: WhatsApp Cofounder Brian Acton on Why He Left $850M Behind
#17“used him”
i have little sympathy for such actors. i’ve known people who got rich on stock options in the ‘00s and then fled california while decrying the rat race. this is the same thing.
if you really mean it, donate all the money to charity, an ed foundation, or some such. i’ll even forgive you for keeping 10mm for yourself. otherwise, cry me a river.
Re: WhatsApp Cofounder Brian Acton on Why He Left $850M Behind
#18How an individual can leave $850M on the table to prove a point blows my mind. I'm in awe at that guy, but I can't help but think that with $850M he could have funded so many interesting projects/research.
Now think of the day fb stock dropped 20% just over the course of few hours...
Re: WhatsApp Cofounder Brian Acton on Why He Left $850M Behind
#19This article seems a little unfair to the WhatsApp founders when it suggests they should have known that any assurances Facebook made to them as part of the acquisition were obviously lies. Sure in 2018 it might be obvious to most of us that nothing Facebook says or promises can be trusted but I don't think that was necessarily as obvious when the acquisition happened and they can be forgiven for thinking they weren'…
What year would it be ok to be naive enough to think that any for profit company’s main motivation is not to make as much money possible?
There is such a thing as business ethics.
Facebook's complete disregard for them should not be the norm, even if it, sadly, might be more often than not.
Re: WhatsApp Cofounder Brian Acton on Why He Left $850M Behind
#20How an individual can leave $850M on the table to prove a point blows my mind. I'm in awe at that guy, but I can't help but think that with $850M he could have funded so many interesting projects/research.
when you’ve already got $4bn, it’s not that hard.