I once killed a $125M deal by being “too honest” • Hacker News Board

Re: I once killed a $125M deal by being “too honest”

#131

Post by refurb » Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 4:05 AM UTC

awb wrote: post #118

refurb wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not sure he bombed the Steve Jobs discussion. Throwing out a higher number you believe in is not destroying the deal, that’s just Jobs being a dick. His “i can’t trust you” is pure bullshit and nothing but a negotiating tactic. Now a better approach would be to ignore Steve and negotiate with the deal team (and let them argue with Steve). But the outcome could have been the exact same.

> Throwing out a higher number you believe in is not destroying the deal, that’s just Jobs being a dick. From the thread the difference was when he followed up his "I think we're worth $150M" with a corrected "I know we're worth $150M". Jobs probably balked at the "I know" part because he knew Apple was one of less than 5 companies that had tons of extra cash in a financial crisis (2008) and had the strategic alignme…

I think we're saying the same thing. They were both negotiating, maybe Steve was being a bit more strategic.

But if he honestly felt the company was worth $150M and Steve thought it wasn't willing to pay more than $50M, then the deal never would have happened regardless what's was said.

Re: I once killed a $125M deal by being “too honest”

#132

Post by hnbad » Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 8:26 AM UTC

Invictus0 wrote: post #59

crate_barre wrote: post #40

Why is everyone so sure Yahoo would not have reneged on the deal anyway? If they were ready to renege the way they did, which is extremely ruthless, what makes you all think Yahoo would divulge they were doing due diligence on Viaweb with an existing floating offer already in place for LinkExchange? Maybe another company was out for Viaweb, Yahoo secures LinkExchange, but continues to try for Viaweb, totally ready to…

An off-color comment over drinks has tanked many, MANY deals.

No kidding. If I was giddy to buy out a company and their CEO told me there's another company that is much better than them and also looking to get acquired and insist their people are better when I push back on it, I'd be extremely cautious about going forward as planned.

It may not be that the other company really is that good, but if the CEO is so comfortable underselling their own team, that suggests the company is not as attractive as initially thought. Especially in a space where hype is the norm.

Re: I once killed a $125M deal by being “too honest”

#133

Post by tarsinge » Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 10:52 AM UTC

khazhoux wrote: post #127

tarsinge wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also applicable to interviews. > run out the door once it’s in your hand Resisting the urge to add something at the door is crucial, more than one good meeting was ruined there (at least for me).

You mean the candidate (or hiring manager) said something that turned you off, or you said something?

Sorry for the poor wording, I mean I said something.

Re: I once killed a $125M deal by being “too honest”

#134

Post by awb » Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 2:51 PM UTC

refurb wrote: post #131

awb wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Throwing out a higher number you believe in is not destroying the deal, that’s just Jobs being a dick. From the thread the difference was when he followed up his "I think we're worth $150M" with a corrected "I know we're worth $150M". Jobs probably balked at the "I know" part because he knew Apple was one of less than 5 companies that had tons of extra cash in a financial crisis (2008) and had the strategic alignme…

I think we're saying the same thing. They were both negotiating, maybe Steve was being a bit more strategic. But if he honestly felt the company was worth $150M and Steve thought it wasn't willing to pay more than $50M, then the deal never would have happened regardless what's was said.

Yeah that’s a very good point, I didn’t think about it that way. Even two life-long friends couldn’t have made a deal under those conditions.

Re: I once killed a $125M deal by being “too honest”

#135

Post by buescher » Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 4:18 PM UTC

raydev wrote: post #123

buescher wrote: post #90

Am I the only one who reads these stories (others have linked to his Steve Jobs story - he was, um, not honest enough for Steve Jobs) as "I almost got acqui-hired twice by names you'd recognize but flunked the job interview both times" rather than as dashing tales of dealmaking derring-do?

Why do you think your initial reading isn't his intent?

I think it’s pretty plain that he’s cuing up the stories - which I’ve enjoyed by the way, he’s a good raconteur - as “what I learned about negotiation that day” rather than “how I didn't get hired”. The pivotal moments in his stories may not have actually been what kept the deal from going through - he alludes to this in the yahoo story, even, but discounts it.

Re: I once killed a $125M deal by being “too honest”

#136

Post by qwerty456127 » Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 3:09 PM UTC

qwerty456127 wrote: post #72

> I wasn’t allowed to respond to him, and I wasn’t allowed to tell him why. This is ridiculous. I can hardly believe such requirements are legally allowed to exist.

To whoever has downvoted: what if the person you were forbidden to respond to, the other company executive, was yor mother or your best friend?

Re: I once killed a $125M deal by being “too honest”

#137

Post by kwertyoowiyop » Thu, Oct 28, 2021, 5:37 PM UTC

CarelessExpert wrote: post #85

numair wrote: post #74

> As a financially-insecure immigrant, I knew this deal would change my life. What is it with this guy and his desire for a hero narrative? First he took credit for the Like button, now this... His cousin Dara is totally insufferable in his lackluster position as CEO of Uber, but at least he’s honest about their very privileged upbringing. Is this a prelude to a political career or something?

> What is it with this guy and his desire for a hero narrative? LOL, that's practically every SV CEO. They all want us to believe that a) they were the underdog, and b) they were the hero in their own story. What I can never tell is which ones are doing it deliberately as part of a PR strategy and which ones simply lack the perspective to realize they're doing it at all.

Porque no los dos, as they say.