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Talent Acquisitions

marco.org

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Re: Talent Acquisitions

#31

Post by justauser »

mikeash wrote: post #22
justauser wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it is to the point now where it is disingenuous for a company NOT to have a banner on every page stating if they are open to investments or acquihire? At least users would know there is an intention/desire/dream to head for greener pastures if given the chance. It is quite alright to disclose as a small business owner that things are slow or somethings are not quite going to plan. If you've got a userbase that…

Shouldn't that banner just be implied? Yes, company X is open to investments or being acquired if the right offer comes along. This should not be a surprise to anyone. Should we require employees to wear a sign to work everyday saying that they will leave their job for a better one if the right offer comes along?

Is the size of a diamond on a wedding ring a similar comparison?

Re: Talent Acquisitions

#32

Post by Firehed »

tb303 wrote: post #12

So now that I've paid for instapaper for iPhone and iPad, I don't have to give Marco any more money. That means the only way he stays in business as the product grows (being that I am not a revenue source anymore) is by either a) figuring out an additional revenue stream from the data or b) discontinuing the apps I paid for and charging me for new ones. The same goes for sparrow. These one-time purchase apps don't ha…

Or Instapaper v2? Paid upgrades have been around since the dawn of software, and there are plenty of companies that have been around long enough to show it works quite well. Adobe is a great example, and Microsoft as well although they've obviously diversified a lot in the past decade.

Re: Talent Acquisitions

#33

Post by tptacek »

smackfu wrote: post #8

>If you want to keep the software and services around that you enjoy, do what you can to make their businesses successful enough that it’s more attractive to keep running them than to be hired by a big tech company. Nice words, but I doubt it matters. Sparrow got nothing but support for their entire company history. Every review was golden. Every user was a paid user. And they still sold out. (Or maybe Marco means pe…

This is a series of nonstatements. Obviously, Sparrow did not get so much support that Google's offer was unattractive. Post as many gold stars as you want: if Google is outbidding the user base, it's hard to blame the developer for accepting their offer.

Re: Talent Acquisitions

#34

Post by bvlaar »

tb303 wrote: post #12

So now that I've paid for instapaper for iPhone and iPad, I don't have to give Marco any more money. That means the only way he stays in business as the product grows (being that I am not a revenue source anymore) is by either a) figuring out an additional revenue stream from the data or b) discontinuing the apps I paid for and charging me for new ones. The same goes for sparrow. These one-time purchase apps don't ha…

Great point. I guess we can draw parallels to other purchases we make. When I purchase a car, I get the car I paid for in that current state, they wont 'update' it for free, nor do we as consumers expect that. The app industry has created a covenant of sorts that says, pay for the software, and we will update it for x period of time going forward. Which is great for consumers but to be frank, kind of a bad deal for developers (considering most apps we buy are relatively inexpensive). Either developers have to adapt the more common pay for updates model (Sparrow 1 = 4.99, Sparrow 2 = 8.99) or it will be a pure 'create the best x' keep adding features so they can amass more and more users.

Re: Talent Acquisitions

#35

Post by joshstrange »

tptacek wrote: post #27
jazzychad wrote: post #9

Well, congrats to Marco for having a successful and sustainable business where he has the option and leverage to decide what he wants to do when these offers come knocking. Most startup/bootstrapped companies are not in that position. Most end up failing and winding up with nothing, but there are some that will end up with these talent acquisition situations. Remember, both sides (the acquirers and the acquirees) hav…

I didn't get that from Marco's post at all . I heard a developer saying "stop blaming indie developers for accepting generous offers from companies and start supporting their products instead".

I got a similar vibe. Also I DID support sparrow. I told absolutely every person I know with a mac that they should use sparrow. Every computer I setup at work and for friends I installed sparrow by default. I have tweeted about loving sparrow. I'm really not sure what more I could have done other than wear a sandwich board around with their logo on it. That STILL didn't stop them from being bought out...

Re: Talent Acquisitions

#36

Post by smackfu »

tptacek wrote: post #33
smackfu wrote: post #8

>If you want to keep the software and services around that you enjoy, do what you can to make their businesses successful enough that it’s more attractive to keep running them than to be hired by a big tech company. Nice words, but I doubt it matters. Sparrow got nothing but support for their entire company history. Every review was golden. Every user was a paid user. And they still sold out. (Or maybe Marco means pe…

This is a series of nonstatements. Obviously, Sparrow did not get so much support that Google's offer was unattractive. Post as many gold stars as you want: if Google is outbidding the user base, it's hard to blame the developer for accepting their offer.

You don't think a message of "support developers or they'll sell out" is a bit tone deaf today?

Re: Talent Acquisitions

#37

Post by jazzychad »

tptacek wrote: post #27
jazzychad wrote: post #9

Well, congrats to Marco for having a successful and sustainable business where he has the option and leverage to decide what he wants to do when these offers come knocking. Most startup/bootstrapped companies are not in that position. Most end up failing and winding up with nothing, but there are some that will end up with these talent acquisition situations. Remember, both sides (the acquirers and the acquirees) hav…

I didn't get that from Marco's post at all . I heard a developer saying "stop blaming indie developers for accepting generous offers from companies and start supporting their products instead".

Could be I misread the tone of the article. Perhaps I was reading it through the lens of everyone being upset about the current state of acquihires on the "Sparrow acquired by Google" thread.

Even so, if you take his advice and do what you can to support software you love to keep it alive, in the long run it may not be enough. Either way, my comment about why these things happen still stands.

Re: Talent Acquisitions

#38

Post by Killswitch »

terhechte wrote: post #2

I'm the author of the popular Mac Instagram Client "InstaDesk" ( http://www.instadesk-app.com ) and I can only confirm this. The reason why I started this whole thing was because I was fed up with working in corporations and not being able to control my life. Now I can enjoy the sun during the day, outside, sitting at a lake, and work late into the evening - or vice versa work at the lake. Even if a huge corporation…

Love this attitude, and I also checked out your app.. Good job! Beautiful and looks awesome. Makes me wish I was more of an Instagram user than I am.

Re: Talent Acquisitions

#39

Post by gwillen »

If I think you are inclined to accept a talent acquisition if offered, I _will not use your product_. Why would I? It's insane for me to trust my data to someone who's going to throw it away to make a buck.

If you accept a talent acquisition, you will -- and should -- have a devil of a time getting customers at your next venture, having thrown away the customers from your previous one. Tread lightly.

Re: Talent Acquisitions

#40

Post by tptacek »

smackfu wrote: post #36
tptacek wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a series of nonstatements. Obviously, Sparrow did not get so much support that Google's offer was unattractive. Post as many gold stars as you want: if Google is outbidding the user base, it's hard to blame the developer for accepting their offer.

You don't think a message of "support developers or they'll sell out" is a bit tone deaf today?

No, I think the exact opposite.
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