[lemax]

This is a fair cautionary tale but it's worth understanding the specifics of the situation – Windsurf maintained a relatively easy to replicate product with no moat, and employed a bunch of attractive talent. The company got gutted of these employees and lost its valuation because no suitable buyer thought their IP was exceptionally valuable on its own. Just because this was the outcome for Windsurf does not mean there are no longer opportunities to join startups building sticky customer bases with valuable IP and walk away wealthier when they exit – yes there is a liquidity problem[1] but let'a be honest with ourselves about the specifics of the case for Windsurf.

[1] https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/11/us-startups-have-a-liquidi...

[sailingparrot]

I don’t understand why the specifics of the situation matters here. We know the company got acquihired for $2.4B, the problem is, why did all of it go to investors and founders and nothing for employees?

I’m not sure customer churn rate has any impact on liquidation preference.

[gsibble]

Actually, their recent acquirer is now raising at a $10B valuation from Founder's Fund.

They had plenty of value left even after getting gutted.