
Hard Decisions - gist
https://avc.com/2019/09/hard-decisions/
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nosuchuser2
Their cryptocurrency doesn't seem to be doing well either:
[https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/kin/](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/kin/)

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kstrauser
The market cap is currently at 666 BTC.

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cynusx
I wonder if they tried selling it off first, surely somebody would want a
minor social network

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basch
I would think so too, kinda shocked IAC isnt interested.

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kstrauser
TL;DR Kik's VC says that their messenger is shutting down (but their
cryptocurrency is intact).

He ends the blog post with:

> I will end this with a quote that the founder of one of our portfolio
> companies sent me this week. I think it sums it up nicely.

> My centre is giving way, my right is in retreat; situation excellent. I am
> attacking.

Were I a newly unemployed engineer on the messenger team, and I'd just been
described as "giving way" or "in retreat", I think I'd file that under adding
insult to injury. That seems kind of tone deaf.

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corry
Fair point. I think Fred meant the comment more for the founder mentality of
not giving up etc. Given that a lot of his readership is founder/investors vs.
typical startup employees, maybe that's OK?

And while tone deaf to a newly unemployed engineer, I'll risk downvotes to say
that perhaps it's not a bad attitude for them to take either. Yes, this is
really shitty and the immediate outlook doesn't look great, but go on attack,
don't sit around / wallow, go make something happen! etc.

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kstrauser
That’s a very reasonable viewpoint, thanks. I hadn’t looked at it that way.

