So basically Facebook got the same benefit as if they had acquired the company(the talent) for less money and the investors got screwed.
Debatably, they got less than half the talent, thank you very much!
Abby > Ivan? :-)
Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did
21–30 of 80 posts
Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did
#22This is clearly a conflict of interest. The founder should have disclosed the terms of employment offer to the investors (if not general public)
On what basis are you saying that they didn't?
Edit: Well, now we know. "No basis" actually turned out to be an understatement. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=779693
Edit 2: just noticed that it was you who asked the question. Credit where credit's due.
Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did
#23This completely doesn't tell the whole story, and those of you commenting should realize that.
It's the most difficult kind of article to rebut: the kind that "raises questions" without drawing any conclusions. But they sure made the situation look pretty shady.
But they sure made the situation look pretty shady.
Really? I read it twice and while I agree that the author was trying to make it look shady, all he actually comes up with are "undisputed facts". It's like trying to make a horror movie by adding scary music to paint drying.
I know nothing about the details here, but when an attempt at innuendo refutes itself, that's pretty weak.
Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did
#24So basically Facebook got the same benefit as if they had acquired the company(the talent) for less money and the investors got screwed.
Presumably they don't get the brand, domain name, existing code base, and access to registered users. There's probably a lot more to this story than we know--there's no need to jump to conclusions.
I don't think Facebook needs the domain, code or registered users. They liked the idea and obviously the people behind it. But to launch it on a Facebook like scale it would need a rewrite, tons of legal power and probably a new name anyway (even TipJoy learned to not like their name).
Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did
#25So basically Facebook got the same benefit as if they had acquired the company(the talent) for less money and the investors got screwed.
Presumably they don't get the brand, domain name, existing code base, and access to registered users. There's probably a lot more to this story than we know--there's no need to jump to conclusions.
> brand name
The founders have themselves said that they have little traction, and 3rd party payment services will not add much value.
> domain name
Doesn't matter, when brand name isn't useful
> Existing code base
Its takes significantly less time to build it the next time.
> Registered users
Facebook has 250 million users! <1% cant matter anyway.
Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did
#26I would like to hear PG's (or other investors) views on this.
Facebook didn't do anything wrong. Tipjoy was out
of money. They'd been talking to several potential
acquirers, including Facebook, but those deals all
fell through. So the Tipjoys were going to have to
get jobs somewhere. Since they were worried about
money and Ivan admired the hackers at Facebook, I
asked FB if they'd offer him a job, and they did.
It doesn't portend anything for the future of startups, as this story seems to imply. If your startup tanks, you have to get a job somewhere, and lots of hackers get jobs at Facebook. There are several other YC alumni working there.
Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did
#27This completely doesn't tell the whole story, and those of you commenting should realize that.
I think most people probably do realise that. I understand you're probably not in a position to tell it all just yet either. Seems like it would be in Facebook's and your own best interest to clarify the already-public information (if not more), though? Kill the speculation before it starts to echo.
Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did
#28Basically it appears like Facebook made the rational calculation that hiring the developer at retail is a lot cheaper than buying the company wholesale. That is consistent with what I have argued in HN comments: with the glut of start-ups (50 from YC alone this year?) prices will drop towards replacement value. The replacement value of a start-up amounts to a hiring bonus for its developers. This is likely true even…
Note to the reader: don't believe every plausible-sounding explanation of events you read on a comment thread.
Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did
#29Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did
#30This completely doesn't tell the whole story, and those of you commenting should realize that.
Ivan, I'm noting your comment, and Paul's, on my post. But the offer I made multiple times to you and Abby still stands -- if there's more info that you want to get out, I'm happy to chat. pk