HN Explorer

Summly acquisition was BS

6 points by kcodey ↗ HN
I'll say it first so no one will jump on me. I am jealous of the 17 year old kid. Don't kid yourselves, you all are too. Who wouldn't want their start up acquired? I mean what's the point starting your own company? The goal should eventually be an exit of some kind.

The news of Summly getting bought out by Yahoo shocked basically almost all of us. It really flies in the face of all that we know too. How often do you hear, "you don't need VC money before you have traction, market fit, etc." It's bull crap. I believe a huge reason Summly was acquired was because of the VC connections it had. Without those connections and investors, that company with no revenue no real traction, would be swimming in the abyss with other start ups.

Summly basically is a company that uses another companies technology!! I mean that's insane! A tech company that uses another companies technology! To be honest, I wouldn't be shocked if this deal falls through because of it's licensing agreement with their technology provider. Maybe that's why the company is being shut down, and "re tooled."

The larger point I am trying to make here is that luck, is literally half the battle with start ups. You could have the best product, design, etc. but if you don't catch a few breaks you will be nothing.

So I guess I can't get too mad at the Summly kid, everyone needs to get lucky once in a while.

10 comments

[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 21.6 ms ] thread
dylanhassinger
30 million for a tenacious product manager. Could be worth it
niggler
"You could have the best product, design, etc. but if you don't catch a few breaks you will be nothing."

Many people have learned this lesson the hard way.

"I am jealous of the 17 year old kid"

Why? Do you really define your personal success to be when another company buys you out?

kcodey
Why am I jealous? I am jealous because I would love to start a company then sell it in two years for 30 million. Very simple.. Never said anything about defining personal success.
niggler
"Who wouldn't want their start up acquired?"

A person who is building a sustainable business that doesn't want to see it mothballed or sullied by others.

"I mean what's the point starting your own company?"

This is a common but fallacious argument. If you wanted to make money, at median you are far better off working as an employee for another company.

Given the high failure rate (you are forgetting selection bias), you have to have something more than a profit desire to start a company. For me, I know I wasn't happy working at a company and having left that environment I don't think I ever want to go back :)

"The goal should eventually be an exit of some kind."

The goal is an exit if you think of your startup as a massive pump and dump. Plenty of people build very sustainable lifestyle businesses.

It really sounds like you need to reevaluate your life a bit, especially if you think that everyone goes into this solely to make a boatload of money. It's easier to make your first million working for a hedge fund than it is in a startup.

kcodey
My life does not need any re evaluation of any sort. I am an entrepreneur as well, and like all other entrepreneurs making money does not drive me, rather the creation of something from nothing is what really motivates me.

That being said, an acquisition from a large company would provide some third party validation, that I am sure many others creating something from nothing, crave.

niggler
"an acquisition from a large company would provide some third party validation, that I am sure many others creating something from nothing, crave."

Those people who crave third-party validation are usually in startups because they hope to strike it rich, not because they are genuinely interested in creating something that they enjoy. You need to escape that paradigm of measuring your self-worth based on others.

trhtrsh
> It's easier to make your first million working for a hedge fund than it is in a startup.

In fact, this is what Mr. Summly did, by way have being born to a banker.

namank
Well, that`s where having good VCs might make a difference. Summly might be at a bigger scale but VCs trying to get their money out of a sinking ship is usually how "soft-landing" is managed.
jfoster
It doesn't fly in the face of what we know. If you take VC money, your investors will be looking for some kind of exit, and they will also be trying to achieve that through their connections. That doesn't mean every company needs to take VC money, but that's one way that people play this game.