

Refresh is acquired by LinkedIn - zachlatta
http://blog.refresh.io/post/115300546551/announcement

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Elepsis
They're giving a whole _two days_ of notice to their customers before shutting
down--customers who might be on precisely the kind of trip right now where
they're relying on their service. I think that might be an impressive new low.

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crypt1d
As far as I can see this was posted on 2nd of April, so its actually almost 2
weeks notice. Thats not much either, but still a lot better than 2 days.

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Elepsis
Yep, totally missed that. Thanks for the catch.

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vosper
> Good things happen when you treat your colleagues, vendors, partners, and
> customers like your family. All of us want to thank our customers for
> supporting us and providing invaluable feedback.

This acquisition might be great for the staff at Refresh, and the short
shutdown window lets LinkedIn get value from the team quickly, but if you
really treat your customers like family I think there should be more than 2
weeks notice of shutdown. This amounts to "so long, and thanks for all the
fish".

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ocdtrekkie
Welcome to the startup world:
[http://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com/](http://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com/)

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untog
The term "surfaced insights" does need to be permanently memorialized, after
all.

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shah_s
LinkedIn has been making a lot of acquisitions lately. Do they feel that their
revenue source from their main product is drying up?

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eli
I don't see why one would follow from the other.

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vonklaus
The recently announced acq. of Lynda seems to indicate LinkedIn trying to
penetrate other markets. If the revenue source from the main product is
waning, they could diversify revenue streams or purchase a value-add company
making their overall offering more competitive.

Maybe they are trying to reposition as a credentialing institution, where
people can network, build skills, and manage their professional calendars.

I am not sure if this is the case here, but numerous acquisitions outside of
core competencies could point to a strategic shift in positioning, possibly in
an effort to shore up declining revenue and relevancy in the core business.

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eli
Isn't another perfectly plausible explanation that the revenue from the main
product is so robust it is fueling an expansion into related markets?

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vonklaus
Sure. However, there are two things that seem to support this:

1\. Social networks seem to decline over time as newer alternatives or
substitutes arise. Specifically, it seems LinkedIn is not as strong as it once
was, and growth can no longer be sustained on the percentage basis.

2\. Generally, a company that has amazing product market fit and strong growth
in an offering would reinvest the lion-share of capital back into the
business.

I don't purport to know what is the case here, just providing the
counterpoint.

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biot
I'm only seeing a blog post from 2013. Site is busted on mobile? Chrome/iPad.

Edit: Upon reloading, I briefly see an article about LinkedIn which gets
quickly replaced by successively older blog posts. Scrolling doesn't seem to
work. Permalink for those experiencing the same:
[http://blog.refresh.io/post/115300546551/announcement](http://blog.refresh.io/post/115300546551/announcement)

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sctb
Thanks, we updated the link.

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jtwebman
This sounds like a great opening for another startup to steal their customers!
Starting it today!

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phesse14
Anybody knows the terms? I wonder why all this secrecy about the numbers...

