Congrats
Thank HN: My bootstrapped startup got acquired today
141–150 of 414 posts
Re: Thank HN: My bootstrapped startup got acquired today
#142wow congrats!!
Re: Thank HN: My bootstrapped startup got acquired today
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is interesting how many stories in a way involve running or moving away from the lifestyle that ... bought them a new lifestyle.
Well, you don't need a million dollars to do nothing, man. Take a look at my cousin: he's broke, don't do shit.
Yeah but if you had a million dollars you could do two chicks at the same time.
and if you were a millionaire, I bet you could hook that up. Chicks dig dudes with money.
Re: Thank HN: My bootstrapped startup got acquired today
#144Earlier quoted context omitted.
> When the lotto gets to be above $1 billion, I'll usually buy a ticket because it's fun to imagine the life I could have with that money. I buy lotto tickets for the same reason! Their expected value is very low but the maximum value is thought-provoking. For me, $50k would be life-changing. One billion is hard to imagine.
What would you do with $50k that would make such a difference in your life?
I know someone who paid off their credit card debt with an inheritance of roughly that size. It completely changed their outlook on life. Before every month was a struggle to just stay on top of the credit cards. Now they are debt-free and are actually able to save a bit of money every month. And for example able to go eat out without struggle.
Mind you by hn standards this is on a miniscule income. Still, many people are struggling hard and a windfall like this can make a huge difference in quality of life.
Re: Thank HN: My bootstrapped startup got acquired today
#145Congratulations!
I've got a small question. How do you deal with people asking for open sourcing your product/code, claiming they don't want to use a product they don't control?
Re: Thank HN: My bootstrapped startup got acquired today
#146Congrats! Thrilled for you and the team.
Re: Thank HN: My bootstrapped startup got acquired today
#147Congratulations! Just curious, usually being purchased by a Private Equity firm spells a death knell for the company. Of course at the right price it makes sense that you wanted to sell it away, but what are your thoughts about what will happen to the company now?
Just as a counter point, private equity seems to have helped WPEngine become so successful that Mullenweg has totally lost his mind over it.
private equity + a whole lot of commons to encircle
Re: Thank HN: My bootstrapped startup got acquired today
#148Earlier quoted context omitted.
I met someone who was an early employee at King about a year after they were acquired for 5.9b - it’s a little different since he wasn’t involved with the sale, but he was still processing the insane amount of money he had. A year on he hadn’t moved out of his small apartment, still contracted, still used the same cheap phone, and hadn’t started investing beyond just the normal mutual funds/bonds/etc. it struck me as…
> I find it’s really interesting how people act when the financial pressure gets suddenly removed. It seems so strange to me to hear stories about people suddenly coming into a bunch of money and not finding contentment or even ending up depressed. If I could afford to retire today, I would do it in a heartbeat and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't run out of things I want to do. When the lotto gets to be above $1 billion,…
> It seems so strange to me to hear stories about people suddenly coming into a bunch of money and not finding contentment or even ending up depressed. If I could afford to retire today, I would do it in a heartbeat and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't run out of things I want to do.
Different goals. If your goal is pursuing hobbies or a certain lifestyle, work is a means to achieve that. Getting money just lets you skip the work part.
Their goal is creating a successful business. Having money and leaving the business means now they have no goal.
Re: Thank HN: My bootstrapped startup got acquired today
#149Earlier quoted context omitted.
I met someone who was an early employee at King about a year after they were acquired for 5.9b - it’s a little different since he wasn’t involved with the sale, but he was still processing the insane amount of money he had. A year on he hadn’t moved out of his small apartment, still contracted, still used the same cheap phone, and hadn’t started investing beyond just the normal mutual funds/bonds/etc. it struck me as…
> hadn’t started investing beyond just the normal mutual funds/bonds/etc You'd be surprised how far you get ahead with S&P 500 + Treasury inflation adjusted securities. It's really hard to beat S&P500. Most funds after fees don't beat it. If S&P500 goes to shit, inflation adjusted securities give you guaranteed returns. The richest IMO people are those who live a modest lifestyle only from their interest, never havin…
Yeah I didn't mean to talk that down, it's just the most no-brainer thing to do. As in, it's so obviously a good idea that any good portfolio will have a chunk devoted to that.
Re: Thank HN: My bootstrapped startup got acquired today
#150Congratulations! Just curious, usually being purchased by a Private Equity firm spells a death knell for the company. Of course at the right price it makes sense that you wanted to sell it away, but what are your thoughts about what will happen to the company now?
Just as a counter point, private equity seems to have helped WPEngine become so successful that Mullenweg has totally lost his mind over it.
And WordPress can thank CPanel and the tens of thousands of customer support and sysadmins that supported millions of WordPress users at $9/mo for a decade and have never once interacted or known who Mullenweg is.
And they can thank mysql.. and apache.. and php..
Take your money and be happy.
I met some of the worst people (CEOs) working in webhosting. Some truly awful people became very rich.
edit; I thought this was referencing old drama. This is brand new. www.reddit.com/r/wpdrama. I don't know anything about Mullenweg, I don't mean to sound like I'm calling him awful specifically.