article thumbnail

After Facebook's IPO flub, value of tech startups falls back to earth

www.theverge.com

A string quartet played a medley of pop radio hits as several hundreds startup founders, Goldman Sachs bankers, and venture capital investors, chatted over drinks inside a gleaming neon temple of Angel Orensanz in lower Manhattan. Capital will be harder to come by, and founders will be more open to sell. By Ben Popper 06.19.2012.

IPO 48
article thumbnail

Customers Love Free Stuff … But That’s Not Your Problem

abovethecrowd.com

This “gain” ($34B last year alone) is a result of a direct wealth-transfer to these individuals FROM the previous owners of the company — founders, executives, employees, and venture investors. Is it disrespectful to imply that the founders, executives, VC-backers, and the boards of these companies are gullible or naive?

IPO 82
article thumbnail

The cardinal sin of community management

Startup Lessons Learned

As a founder of a company, there is nothing more painful than to see your most loyal and devoted customers suffering. That is what company founders and staff do not get. In a history of totalitarian governments, there's one common thing. " I couldn't agree more. We WORK, not just play, on IMVU. We are partners.

Community 158