Any more on the apparent $8 million "acqui-hire" by Dropbox?
http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/27/readmill-acqui-hired/
Readmill shuts down, team joins Dropbox
31–40 of 51 posts
Re: Readmill shuts down, team joins Dropbox
#32Any recommendations for a replacement?
Re: Readmill shuts down, team joins Dropbox
#33They mentioned no new signups were allowed but I still managed to sign up via Facebook and created a new account. Not sure how to get a hold of them but they might want to know that.
Re: Readmill shuts down, team joins Dropbox
#34Well, at least they're not pitching it as a grand success for all, and won't end up on http://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com/
Tip to engineers new to the startup world: If the startup you work for has any success or traction, but runs out of money, you will be sold off as a team like cattle. When startups shutdown, all assets -- servers, client contracts, software, furniture, and teams -- will be sold off to recoup losses. You won't have much say in it and it kind of sucks. In fairness to the CEO's that broker these deals, they are probably…
Well, if you are an employee of an acquired startup, you always have the option of leaving. The acquirer will try to make sure that between unvested equity and retention packages you have enough incentive to stay, but it's really your choice.
Re: Readmill shuts down, team joins Dropbox
#35This is an incredibly, incredibly well done shutdown statement. It explains clearly what happened; it isn't overly congratulatory to themselves; it puts a clear emphasis on how their users can export their data; it thanks those who helped them on the journey; it beautifully summarizes everything they built and stood for, from the solid typography, to the interactive timeline, to the team photos, to the simple, clean…
This. This should be a model for what a shutdown statement should be: forthright, empathic, free of gratuitious spin.
Readmill's story ends here. Many challenges in the world of ebooks remain unsolved, and we failed to create a sustainable platform for reading. For this, we're deeply sorry. We considered every option before making the difficult decision to end the product that brought us together.
Re: Readmill shuts down, team joins Dropbox
#36Well, at least they're not pitching it as a grand success for all, and won't end up on http://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com/
Tip to engineers new to the startup world: If the startup you work for has any success or traction, but runs out of money, you will be sold off as a team like cattle. When startups shutdown, all assets -- servers, client contracts, software, furniture, and teams -- will be sold off to recoup losses. You won't have much say in it and it kind of sucks. In fairness to the CEO's that broker these deals, they are probably…
> sold off as a team like cattle
I'm not sure I can recall the last time cattle were sold off as a team because their abilities were respected; perhaps the closest team of domesticated animals we can find changing hands between companies would be the Budweiser Clydesdales, from wherever they came from; even this example is strained. Nay (neigh?), engineers should take pride in being acquired - you suddenly have a whole new world of resources and collaborators opened up to you, even if you end up having to pivot the original concept, and you have the best of both worlds in terms of having a group of people to enter a company with, and being able to talk about your achievements at the previous engagement. And if you were in a startup to begin with, did you expect that you wouldn't pivot ever?
You and your friends aren't saleable assets, you're the company. And that's something to take pride in.
Re: Readmill shuts down, team joins Dropbox
#37This is an incredibly, incredibly well done shutdown statement. It explains clearly what happened; it isn't overly congratulatory to themselves; it puts a clear emphasis on how their users can export their data; it thanks those who helped them on the journey; it beautifully summarizes everything they built and stood for, from the solid typography, to the interactive timeline, to the team photos, to the simple, clean…
Really nice to see them handling it straight-forwardly instead of pretending like it's an epic win for users when it's a really an acqui-hire. Props to these guys for being honest.
Re: Readmill shuts down, team joins Dropbox
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
Tip to engineers new to the startup world: If the startup you work for has any success or traction, but runs out of money, you will be sold off as a team like cattle. When startups shutdown, all assets -- servers, client contracts, software, furniture, and teams -- will be sold off to recoup losses. You won't have much say in it and it kind of sucks. In fairness to the CEO's that broker these deals, they are probably…
Well, if you are an employee of an acquired startup, you always have the option of leaving. The acquirer will try to make sure that between unvested equity and retention packages you have enough incentive to stay, but it's really your choice.
And this is why I just don't get this aqui-hire craze. You can buy the founders, sure, but unless an employee has equity or you throw some real cash at them why would a rank and file employee stay? If I wanted to work at XYZ corp (especially if XYZ corp is big enough to acquire the startup), then I would have sent a resume to XYZ corp in the first place.
Re: Readmill shuts down, team joins Dropbox
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, if you are an employee of an acquired startup, you always have the option of leaving. The acquirer will try to make sure that between unvested equity and retention packages you have enough incentive to stay, but it's really your choice.
And this is why I just don't get this aqui-hire craze. You can buy the founders, sure, but unless an employee has equity or you throw some real cash at them why would a rank and file employee stay? If I wanted to work at XYZ corp (especially if XYZ corp is big enough to acquire the startup), then I would have sent a resume to XYZ corp in the first place.
What a company is buying in an acqui-hire is not just individual capability, but also team chemistry and cohesion. The team has proven that it can work together effectively to ship a great product. They're acquired (and given appropriate salaries + retention packages) to do the same for the acquirer.
Re: Readmill shuts down, team joins Dropbox
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It was also one of the few services that would let you upload ePub books to your account through the website and then sync your library to your mobile device. Or you could just toss it in your Dropbox... assuming they integrate Readmill into the mobile app, I fail to see why everyone doesn't win.
That would be better than nothing, but there's still a long road between here and there! This also sounds like more of a soft landing or "acqui-hire" for a company that was running out of money rather than a concerted effort by Dropbox to push hard into the reading app space. I hope it is, but so far Dropbox hasn't even issued a press release about the acquisition, have they? And Readmill's design is just sexy as hel…
It would be incredible if they would opensource their iOS app at this point.