

How Large Software Companies Destroy Startup Value - Anon84
http://www.25hoursaday.com/weblog/2008/08/12/ApplicationRewritesAfterAcquisitionsHowLargeSoftwareCompaniesDestroyStartupValue.aspx

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prakash
There in lies the opportunity, as soon as a startup gets acquired by one of
the larger companies, might be a good idea to start such a company with the
same/similar idea.

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Anon84
This is also where IP comes in... can you reproduce someones product without
violating their patents?

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stcredzero
Have you actually looked at patents? They are a cesspool of legalese and
trolling for settlements.

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Anon84
Aren't you just conceeding the point? Patents are crafted like that precisely
to prevent people from reproducing the work without violating them. Precise
statements are easy to get around... fuzzy ideas and claims are much harder to
circumnavigate.

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stcredzero
Yes, but if this cesspool were a real barrier, nothing would ever get done!
Ignore at first. You'll be too small to sue. When you start to get somewhere,
you can attract those with the resources to defend you.

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mlinsey
I wonder how much fault lies with the bureaucracy of large companies and how
much lies with the acquired team suddenly transitioning from an environment
where they are poor and must fight to survive to an environment where they are
(at lest comparatively) rich and have no fear of their employer going bankrupt
because if their development timeline slips?

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rdj2
I think the article was missing the '...And What To Do About It' part.
Although, it may be a system that is perceived to be broken but in reality
serves its masters well. The startup gets their payday and the acquiring
entity may make some additional revenue and most likely get some sort of tax
write-off.

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slackerIII
I wrote down one idea here: [http://www.spiteful.com/2008/08/12/so-youve-sold-
your-first-...](http://www.spiteful.com/2008/08/12/so-youve-sold-your-first-
startup/)

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raganwald
Sometimes destroying the value of the company they acquire is the entire point
of the exercise:

<http://daringfireball.net/2005/04/adobe_translation>

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fauigerzigerk
Yes this happens sometimes (Oracle/Innobase,...), but in the case of
Adobe/Macromedia I think this very evidently not the case. I mean just look at
Flash and what has become of it since Adobe bought it.

