Earlier quoted context omitted.
The last round was also 3 years prior, so the amortised yearly return was definitely not something their investors had any reason to cheer about. From their point of view this was a failed opportunity. People forget that VC funds also aren't great business for the partners without carry (you get a management fee that keeps the light on, but you make your profit largely from a proportion of returns of the fund above s…
The employees were sold a lie that their stock options were worth taking a lower salary. Every single developer effectively invested something resembling 10-30k and was totally wiped out, and if they worked there 3 years that's probably a quarter of their life savings. But the investor only demands a meager $200 million return on their $400 million investment before they recognize the workers' investments.
Re: Sell for half a billion and get nothing (2021)
#331They believed a lie. If they accept getting paid in stock, they're tying their futures to the companies. Which means risk. It could make them very rich or waste years of their lives to say nothing of the opportunity cost. People who don't want that risk should opt to get paid in liquid cash instead.