
ReMail (YC W09) Acquired by Google - Sam_Odio
http://www.remail.com/blog/posts/157001
======
axod
I'm not sure shutting down a product and hiring the founder(s) should be
classed as an 'acquisition'.

It's just a recruitment with a golden hello really.

These seem to be getting more and more common lately.

~~~
ccarpenterg
I'm curious. 'a recruitment with a golden hello really' means that they had an
offer of acquisition but with a 'you have to work for us' clause?

~~~
e1ven
I believe axod's point is that an acquisition on this scale may simply amount
to a signing bonus, rather than what investors might consider a substantial
exit.

Since he is shutting down the original project, and terms are not disclosed,
it's entirely possible that he simply became tired of running it, applied for
Google, interviewed and was hired.

I'm not saying that I necessarily agree, but you had asked for clarification.

~~~
dschobel
Do you think Google would fake an acquisition though? It's hard to imagine for
a company of that stature and those means.

~~~
axod
Six Apart 'acquired' Pownce [1]. Shut it down, then a year later and the 2
founders have left [2].

I'm always slightly skeptical ;) but these things just seem like a way to
avoid having your baby in the dead pool to me.

[1] [http://www.sixapart.com/blog/2008/12/welcome-pownce-
team.htm...](http://www.sixapart.com/blog/2008/12/welcome-pownce-team.html)
[2] [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2010/02...](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2010/02/12/AR2010021204437.html)

~~~
jmm
The fact they both left shortly after a year would perhaps point to something
a bit more substantial than a signing bonus. More like a retention bonus tied
to the acquisition. That's what I thought when I read about LC's departure the
other day anyway.

------
paulbaumgart
Congratulations are definitely in order, but seeing as they're discontinuing
their product, I can't help but be reminded of:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1117668> :-)

------
dschobel
Congrats to the team but...

How can you say: _"[Thanks to] Paul Buchheit and Sanjeev Singh [who] endured
my slide deck on our multi-step plan for global email domination, and pointed
out that instead I should build something small, simple, and useful. It
worked."_

It worked so well that you kill the product? Or does "it worked" refer to the
pay day + google job?

~~~
scott_s
I assume the plan is to integrate his product into mobile Gmail. _His_ product
will die, but all of those ideas will live on.

~~~
dschobel
There's no mention of any future for the ideas, even vague NDA-friendly ones.
That's the issue.

~~~
rjurney
Why would Google make this acquisition if there was no value in the product,
if they intended to do nothing similar, if they could make no use of the work
done to date, of the outcome of the experiment, of the experience of the team?

They wouldn't. Google just acquired the leading experts at monetizing search
on the iPhone. Can't you see the value in that for Google from many angles?

Everything Google does has to fit Google's scale - and that is at odds with
architecting a product at a startup. So you rewrite it, you get the new DNA
incorporated into existing product lines, and you move forward.

------
nostrademons
Awesome. Congrats Gabor & company.

Seems like Google is acquiring an awful lot of ex-employees lately, with
Etherpad, Aardvark, and now ReMail. Makes sense given their hiring push and
large cash supply, but it makes me wonder if the best way to fame and fortune
is to do well at Google and then to leave Google...

~~~
zaidf
_do well at Google and then to leave Google_

You forgot the whole middle part where you have to burn the midnight oil
working on your startup, raising $, seeing uncertainty written all over your
adventure. Yes, even if you are an ex-Googler.

~~~
nostrademons
The type of engineers who "do well at Google" tend to do that anyway. The risk
is a bit less, but the workload is just as high, and (depending upon your
project) the uncertainty can be too.

------
davidedicillo
Is Google trying hire back every engineer or intern who left it?

~~~
rjurney
Yes. People go off, try new things, then get acquired and brought back into
the mothership to incorporate their experiment. Its a very valid model of R&D.

~~~
gscott
Worked out for Steve Jobs as well

~~~
grinich
Agreed, but he's an outlier.

~~~
rjurney
In terms of the Apple acquisition of NeXT, Steve Jobs is not an outlier.

Founders leaving big companies, often in groups, to found starups that are
later acquired by big companies - often one they previously worked for, is
common.

Its the most common pattern among successful startups. Its happened since day
one of silicon valley, 110 years ago. This pattern is the basis of most of the
wealth in the area.

------
coffee
"Google and reMail have decided to discontinue reMail's iPhone application,
and we have removed it from the App Store. reMail is an application on your
phone. If you already have reMail, it will continue to work. We'll even
provide support for you until the end of March"

Good for them, congrats, but oy-vey!

------
bry
Personally, I wouldn't move to work for a big company like Google after
running a successful startup like this unless I had to as part of the deal.
Not because Google is evil, but because you lose your independence. I wonder
if that was part of the deal.

~~~
nostrademons
Isn't that part of getting acquired? You typically don't get acquired by other
startups (they don't have money), and you typically get far less of a payout
if you don't work for the acquirer afterwards (they want the talent that built
the software in addition to the software itself).

~~~
bry
* forehead-slap *

Of course, ignore my dumb comment :)

------
FlemishBeeCycle
Everytime I hear about a startup being acquired by Google I think of
<http://suicidefood.blogspot.com/>. As the ultimate goal of the startup seems
to be, being devoured.

------
knightinblue
Congrats!

How much?

------
chr15
Will Google's "acquisition" strategy give current Google employees a greater
incentive to leave the company and start their own? For example, some top
engineers might have an idea for a product and will be incentivized to leave,
knowing that Google will buy them as a talent acquisition.

------
yan
> I will be joining Google in Mountain View as a Product Manager on the Gmail
> team.

> Gmail is where my obsession with email started as an engineering intern back
> in 2004...

That must feel great.

~~~
nandemo
I guess it would feel even better to sell your startup after having been
rejected by Google...

------
andrewhyde
Congrats!

------
maxklein
This is not an acquisition. It's the death of a product. And I called this one
also: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=907456>

My prediction accuracy on startup failure is pretty good, I think!

~~~
gruseom
Maxklein, your comments consistently give me the impression that you live to
belittle the achievements of others. Is that really the impression you intend
to convey? You seem like a smart guy, but this stuff is painfully unpleasant
to read. (You're not the only one, by any means. And yes, I would raise this
concern in person.)

As for Remail/Google: what firsthand knowledge about this transaction do you
have?

~~~
zackattack
Also, I don't understand why he emails companies asking for discounts on web
apps when he's bringing in 20k/month in revenue.

~~~
maxklein
To both questions: I am the Ebenezer Scrooge of hacker news.

------
howcool
Great,thanks for killing a great iPhone app!

------
zackattack
Congratulations, man.

