

Chris Hughes's Startup Jumo ‘Acquired’ for $0 and a Graceful Exit - loschorts
http://betabeat.com/2011/08/17/0-acquisition-of-jumo-gets-chris-hughes-a-graceful-exit-great-pr-for-good/

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aaronbrethorst
I like the first comment:

 _There’s no shame in having a failed startup. There is shame in attempting to
maintain the facade of success._

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donohoe
I don't think there is a _facade_ in this case. Usually never that simple.

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jgilliam
Jumo is a non-profit, not a startup. Using the language "acquired" and "exit"
doesn't make any sense.

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rhizome
The submitter is a betabeat shill, so I'm guessing the phrase, "maximum click
juice," should provide enough sensemaking points.

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jordank
Legal folks, can a non-profit be acquired for more than $0?

It's a great deal for Good as they get the fruits of $3.5 Million in charity
for free, but I'm not sure how they would pay unless the IP was locked up in a
for-profit licensing-centric holding company.

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robtoo
According to the article, there is no "fruits of $3.5 million", no real IP, no
nothing.

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untog
Hughes has already denied this on Twitter, but really, who knows.

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bproper
As Betabeat wrote on Twitter in response"

"@chrishughes @techmeme @GOOD as we said to you before we published, confirm
or deny on the record, and we're happy to report it. You can't decline to
comment beforehand, then refuse to go on record after, then point fingers. And
we included the statement from your GM in the piece."

If Jumo had a $$$ figure they were proud of, they would share it. But the
first comment captures it best. If Hughes understand that failure is a badge
of honor in the tech world, and came clean before this news broke, it would be
a non-story, and people would respect him for trying to build such a noble
start-up.

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tptacek
So that's how it works now, eh? When a subject won't talk to you, just run
your worst suspicion. If they don't go on the record after that, you must be
right!

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ookblah
I'm surprised they didn't keep at it... Jumo had been live for what, like less
than a year? They were entering the same space as care, change, and idealist.
Those sites took YEARS to develop their community base. Not saying things need
a timeline but geez....

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anmol
How did they burn through $3.5MM in less than a year? Curious.

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rdl
16 people, loaded costs of 100-200k each, plus facilities, legal, contractors,
etc. A lot of non-profits have high costs of fundraising, too.

There's an argument that non-profit employees should take lower than market
salaries to support the cause, but also there's an argument that they need
above-market compensation since there's no equity or potential for an exit.

(I'd take a lower than market salary for a non-profit I really believed in, if
I could, but it's not necessarily the case that the best designer or engineer
for a non-profit is necessarily going to be willing or able to do so.)

