Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Sell my startup for $14M because I can't raise $2M?

news.ycombinator.com

331–336 of 336 posts

Re: Ask HN: Sell my startup for $14M because I can't raise $2M?

#331
Maybe your just not charging enough?

--installation (SaaS pricing with

--sounds like on site implementation

--support and training(outside of basic documentation on a website)

--security reviews(part of on site implementation)

Shouldn't all that be billable hours?

or some kind of add-on fee

Re: Ask HN: Sell my startup for $14M because I can't raise $2M?

#332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Unless you actually have a term-sheet in your inbox, you aren't in the position to make this decision right now. even then, its not over till the cash is in your account.

Even then, it's not over completely if part of the cash is attached to milestones or subject to a new vesting schedule. I've seen friends' companies acquired without them ever seeing the full "acquisition price".

If the cash is attached to milestones or vesting, it won't be in your account...

Re: Ask HN: Sell my startup for $14M because I can't raise $2M?

#334
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Without any relevant startup experience to back it up my opinion, I concur. It's a hard pill to swallow, but unless you are working at the top of your software area with mostly theoretical bits that you've worked out, it's not really all that hard to copy most things in software (unless you have contracts in that give you an advantage, sort of like a mini monopoly). It's bad enough that a few years ago here people we…

> It's bad enough that a few years ago here people were complaining that they would do a Show HN submission, and find a few weeks after that someone had taken their mostly completed idea, assigned a whole team of cheap developers to it and executed on it not only faster, but better. Is this still a problem? Don’t PG and others say not to be afraid of others stealing ideas, and that ideas are worth little, and that it…

Doing research on up-and-coming startups is every M&A department's core competency. If you are to believe the rumors - some big players are very sophisticated in figuring out what to copy.

Nobody is going to put up with hyper-stealth NDA paranoias nowadays. But I do think the jury is still out on radical transparency. I don't think Snapchat would still be around without its secrecy.

Re: Ask HN: Sell my startup for $14M because I can't raise $2M?

#335
Are you not profitable? Why do you need VC money if you are worth 400M?

I would start calling the VC firms everyday to set up an appointment. You have revenue and a proven product which is leaps and bounds ahead of most pitches they see. At the very least you can use these term sheets to increase the acquisition offer and give urgency for the acquiring company to act. You do not want to let them come in and learn everything and leave as I have seen this happen with a company I was a contractor for.

Post reply on HN