Wow. I’ve been a user since the beginning and I seem to recall a point where they almost closed their doors. Talk about it paying off to keep going.
Dropbox buys HelloSign (YC W11) for $230M
41–50 of 164 posts
Re: Dropbox buys HelloSign (YC W11) for $230M
#42Re: Dropbox buys HelloSign (YC W11) for $230M
#43EXCELLENT! I've been saying Dropbox needed to add this type of functionality to their existing offering for a while now so this is very exciting.
It's a natural fit with everything else that they are doing with Dropbox Paper.
Now they just need to add a direct integration for something like eFax and it will be on the short list of indispensable SMB tooling.
EDIT: Didn't realize HelloSign had the fax capability already...so all around great news. This is probably the most well aligned acquisition I can recall seeing.
Re: Dropbox buys HelloSign (YC W11) for $230M
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don’t think it is meant to be negative. I think “snares” could be positive or negative. I interpreted it as Dropbox was fortunate to acquire HelloSign. Also, this may just be some creative writing. Dropbox’s announcement did not use such language.
> I think “snares” could be positive or negative. You know a snare is a hidden trap for animals? I can't imagine being snared to be positive - it implies you're going to be skinned or eaten.
It also implies you've caught something of value. And get to have stew.
Re: Dropbox buys HelloSign (YC W11) for $230M
#45I wonder what was their revenue?
Re: Dropbox buys HelloSign (YC W11) for $230M
#46This acquisition will fail if Whitney, Neal and the HelloSign team isn't given the freedom and authority to direct integration, marketing and product direction going forward. HelloSign has demonstrated competencies Dropbox has not. Great that Dropbox nailed sync, desktop integration and sharing years ago; but since then they've done little to show any vision or execution in marketing, sales or product direction. As a…
Have you used Paper? Also an acquired team, and a great product that has seen a bevy of improvements since being under Dropbox.
Paper is excellent.
Re: Dropbox buys HelloSign (YC W11) for $230M
#47There's something I never understood about e-signature services: how are they legally binding? Why do we need them at all? The end users don't have control over any of the keys, so it all hinges on the e-signature service telling the truth. It's significantly less secure than say, S/MIME with a proper CA-signed certificate. Is the bar for legal "signatures" really that low?
How is it any different than signing something physically ? I have always understood signatures to be an honor contract. Once you have signed something, what is the proof that YOU actually signed it other than doing a notary ?
And that is why some cases go to court. That is what a lawyer told me while writing our own internal e-signature tool then asked for a few things to help provide evidence for those cases.
Re: Dropbox buys HelloSign (YC W11) for $230M
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you used Paper? Also an acquired team, and a great product that has seen a bevy of improvements since being under Dropbox.
Literally all I want from Dropbox is to sync files between my various devices. I am not interested in doing anything else with it.
I think improving on the syncing-workflow and enhancing it to offer more then just syncing would be something useful. Something like automated actions, or filters.
I store sourcecode in my dropbox, and I really would prefer a way to not sync certain junk-files from compiling-process. Or let it automatically commit to a git-repo if there are changes in certain folders. Something like IFTTT for files seems a sane solution that dropbox seem to miss for a long time now.
Re: Dropbox buys HelloSign (YC W11) for $230M
#49is this a 70X acquisition multiple? I read somewhere they had ~3mil in turnover?
It's called nepotism and designed exits for investors with public funds.
Re: Dropbox buys HelloSign (YC W11) for $230M
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because the ceremony of a signature has been socially recognised for thousands of years. That's what our society expects.
>Because the ceremony of a signature Come to think of it, I remember "signing" pdfs in adobe reader by clicking a form field that produced a signature similar to[1]: John Smith Digitally signed by CN=John Smith [...] This would satisfy the "ceremony" requirement. According to adobe[2] it looks like you can do this with self signed certificates, so it's completely free as well. But this option is significantly less po…
You can even satisfy the ceremony of signature in a pdf document by inserting your hand drawn signature in Preview.