

Last.fm founders quit - dsingleton
http://blog.last.fm/2009/06/10/message-from-the-lastfm-founders-felix-rj-and-martin

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TrevorJ
I don't think there should be undue stigma or speculation when founders move
on. The type of person who can cast a vision that brings a company to this
point isn't always (or rarely is) the same person who will thrive on the task
of maintaining a company once it reaches, or nearly reaches the founder's
original vision for it. There is nothing wrong with finding the most opportune
moment to bow out, provided you aren't screwing over anyone else.

~~~
abossy
There's clear evidence that a leader that founded the company with a clear
guiding vision is irreplaceable. The large companies that have survived for
15+ years; Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon come to mind; are those that are most
successful even upon maturity.

~~~
TrevorJ
You are probably pretty much correct, but at the same time if it was that cut-
and-dried then the contracts would stipulate tenure a lot longer than 2 years
for founders when a startup gets bought out.

~~~
abossy
Notice that the examples I gave aren't companies that have been bought out;
they're still being led by their founders. The problem is that less and less
companies are having IPOs and reaching massive size to carry out their
original vision properly. Instead, their liquidation option is acquisition,
which keeps the CEOs of big, rich companies in power and lets them carry out
the visions of acquirees the way they see fit -- which usually isn't the
optimal solution.

A founder is much more suited to carry out his or her vision by having
millions of dollars in the bank and no constraints, rather than be constrained
by the acquiring company in a system that is bloated and become increasingly
bureaucratic.

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ivankirigin
I wonder if they are essentially saying "since our stock is finished vesting
over the last 2 years..."

They might have wanted to leave for some time.

edit: It's really close to the exact 2 year mark
<http://www.crunchbase.com/company/last-fm>

~~~
pchristensen
Didn't pg just say that being in a startup is like being repeatedly punched in
the face, but being in a big company is like being waterboarded?

~~~
ivankirigin
I think that was in the context of leaving a big company to start a startup.

Joining a big company after your startup is acquired is a bit different
dynamic. Maybe it can be likened to opium. I've never tried opium, nor sold a
company.

But it must feel good, with obviously bad and brewing side effects.

~~~
pchristensen
At least from the Inc article it was in context of working at Yahoo after
getting bought.

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Jem
I am not normally a conspiracy theorist, but the first thing that crossed my
mind was the whole crappy drama with techcrunch.

Have the founders discovered that there was a data leak - and, given their
opinions on the matter - decided it better to quit than work with whoever made
it happen?

I hope not (edit: because I was rooting for last.fm, not because I want it to
be true).

~~~
nikblack
all 3 founders leave at the same time, only two years after being acquired?
there is more to this than simply leaving to do other things. founders of
sites like last.fm don't just let their babies go so easily, acquisition or
not (think myspace, facebook, bebo, etc.)

I would say that it is connected to the RIAA drama and CBS sending them user
info. If they resigned because of that, then full props to them (they just owe
TC one big apology).

If the data sharing with the RIAA did happen and they didn't resign - then
shame on them.

~~~
Jem
I don't think all 3 leaving at the same time means anything. One would assume
that they're probably great friends, and feel that their combined effort in a
new project (when the time comes) is better than 1 or 2 going separate ways.

That's how I see it, anyway.

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maukdaddy
2 years...about the right time for bonus, retention payments, options, etc. to
vest.

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Dauntless
Well, if they all left at the same time, I really hope they are working on
something new. It's interesting that Felix, RJ and Martin were actually the
original team (I thought at first that they were just part of the original
team): <http://www.last.fm/about/team> so I'm looking forward to see a new
startup from them.

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danw
7 years is a long time to have spent working on a single company.

~~~
abossy
That's why you should start something that you really believe in. :) Start-ups
aren't a get-rich-quick scheme -- it just happens that the market desperately
needs some product or good that leads a select few company to explosive
growth, which the media then focuses on.

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axod
2 years seems a good average length to endure big-corp life. Wonder if there's
some more data on this somewhere.

~~~
jack7890
Would be nearly impossible to analyze because so much is dependent on
(private) vesting terms

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messel
As a founder when (if ever) do you pass over control of a business you
started?

That's a hard question to answer. Obviously it depends on what your goals were
initially (build something, make some cash) and whether or not you've met
them.

After building and selling a business what do you do next? Build another
business and sell it? Or perhaps build a business, and keep on building it for
the rest of your working days? Is that what twitter is up to? EV sold blogger
a while back.

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pedalpete
the reason i would read more into this than just 'it's time to move on' is
when all 3 founders leave at the same time. or is that more common than i
would suspect?

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mapleoin
In an open world, <http://libre.fm> shows promise.

~~~
mapleoin
guys? what did I say? Was this so off-topic? I was only suggesting an
alternative...

~~~
dsingleton
It's getting a bit trite that every time Last.fm is mentioned (in good or bad
light) that someone mentions libre.fm.

Don't get me wrong, it's a nice project, but it's as annoying as constantly
plugging your startups alternative to a popular service, the fact it's open-
source doesn't dull that.

~~~
mapleoin
thanks! I didn't know libre.fm was so well-known around here.

