Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

This discussion expands on my Quora answer to a specific question: “ Why were the stock options of MySpace employees worthless even though the company was sold to News Corporation for hundreds of millions? ” The complete story includes a startup-within-a-startup, investments and exits by two VC firms, and some genuine corporate drama.

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

Agile VC

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

Founded : Spring 2004, incorporated July 2004. How They Do It : Operate a social network at Facebook.com, through Facebook’s mobile apps, and the Facebook Platform which lets other websites extend Facebook’s tools for authentication and social sharing. Financial Snapshot : 2011 Revenue: $3.71 Facebook, Inc.

IPO 100

IPO South Korea Venezuela Revenue 100

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2010

Most of what I learned about operating startups I learned from the really tough years at my first company from 2001-2003. I was paid less in salary in 2004 than I was paid at the job I quit in 1999 (a job I had held 8+ years). I learned how to retain employees when stock options were no longer a real currency.

Venture Capital 285

Venture Capital Hiring Software Review Stock Options 285