

Google acquires Ruba.com - ilike
http://www.ruba.com/blog/2010/05/21/ruba-team-joins-google/

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random42
Ruba is not acquired by google. The Ruba team is just working with iGoogle
team.

[http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/21/google-acquires-travel-
guid...](http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/21/google-acquires-travel-guide-
startup-ruba/)

~~~
davidu
I think the point Google is making is that ruba.com will be shut down and the
team Mike assembled will be integrated into iGoogle and other teams. They will
not be working on ruba.com any more.

Mike had assembled a world-class team, including former Googlers and Google
wanted those people back working for them. It's the Google boomerang. :-)

~~~
cmelbye
1\. Unsatisfied with working at Google, Googler leaves to become a founder at
a startup

2\. Startup does stuff that Google wants

3\. Google acquires startup, Googler is back at Google

4\. ???

5\. Profit!!

~~~
icey
It seems like a pretty meritocratic way to earn a bigger pay raise than you'd
normally get.

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jacquesm
I wished people would use the word 'acquires' to describe those situations
where a succesful start-up is bought by a larger company, not as a fig-leaf
for dismembering a not-so-hot start-up or worse.

~~~
rwhitman
I feel like companies throw this around as a feelgood term to try and boost
the esteem of the team after a liquidation.

For the founders it boosts their profile with one last feature on Techcrunch &
in their resumes for the next job by touting "acquired by X" when in fact it
was liquidated to X as a fire sale.

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mikeryan
Congrats to the CEO of Ruba for looking out for his team enough to find them
jobs before dissolving the company.

I'd jump on this guys next gig in a heartbeat.

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bdr
There's another ex-Googler "local guide" startup at
<http://www.nextstop.com/>. I wonder how they feel about this.

~~~
rwhitman
Considering that Ruba was identical in most ways to Nextstop I imagine its a
weird turn of events for them. If they ever wanted to be acquired by Google
they probably just lost that opportunity

~~~
borism
how many ex-Googlers would want to be acquired back by Google? this is getting
ridiculous :)

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jbellis
... ruba will be closing shortly.

/cynical

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huherto
Good for them! But it doesn't say what will happen with their service.

