Ahhh good ol' Kulveer. Time to revisit my old comment from 292 days ago:
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As the first poster said, don't believe everything you read. The media is all about hype and thousandaires don't roll off the page.
The details: the acquisition price was $5 Million which was made up of $2 Million Cash and $3 Million Stock.
There were 3 founders, Harjeet Taggar, Kulveer Taggar, Patrick Collison. Each founder held 20.89% of the company at the time of sale. YCombinator held 4.38%. Paul Graham personally held 0.96%.
20.89% of $5 Million is $1,044,500. Of course they only have 40% of that in cash and the other 60% is in stock. The stock was $2.69 the day the deal closed. It's now trading at $2.40. If they still have their shares, they are worth 10% less which is a loss of $62,670.
That is all before tax. Factor in capital gains tax of 10-15% before the stock drop and you are already out of millionaire territory.
On an unrelated note, each of the founders are now making a base salary $100,000 at Communicate.com. This does not include bonuses, options, etc.
(I recall reading Kulveer saying this in own words in his blog, www.kulveer.co.uk, along with the advice PG gave them to keep going and not sell yet, but his blog seems to be down or has a problem so unfortunate I cannot add the source as a reference).
The sad thing is, they didn't seem to make something people wanted...
So I don't see there being any useful advice here, apart from maybe "Get to know lots of people, one of which might buy your co. regardless of its merit".
Also the whole saga reminds me of the sad days toward the end of the dotcom bubble, when teenagers were making 'startups', without product, and planning on an exit as soon as possible.
As for live current, just because you own cricket.com, doesn't mean you have any traffic going to it. Premium domain names are just ego trips...
Basicially, to me, it reads because they were passionate about what they were doing (passion), would not let anything stop them (ambition), were able to hack/get things done quickly and efficiently and had some great previous accomplishments (talent, focus, customer care), and were smart.
So, if you possess these qualities, and have a likable-personality, then chances you could woo the Bucheits and Saccas et al of the world (if that is what you desire). Why not?
Otherwise, just get on with building your things, and if it is really something people want, then A) you will get attention this way and B) hopefully make enough cash too to not care about wooing others (maybe I am wrong, but to me it seems people woo only when they want cash/advice/similar rather then pursue friendships because you like each other etc.) :)
I had the exact same thoughts. I also found it interesting that YC even invested in the company at that stage - it wasn't exactly a "seed" round, financially. I guess the existing investors figured (in hindsight: correctly) that YC would boost the company sufficiently to make it worth what I can only assume must have been a lower valuation. 4% at $20k would put the whole company at $500k, and ~$350k had already been invested! (GBP:USD was near 2:1 in 2007 [1])
I didn't notice that. He went to a good school and got a good job, but I don't think he inherited either.
And in a sense, it's more inspiring, since he's giving up a six-figure job to start something new, while most of us would be giving up significantly less.
we didn't "start off with such good cards". we worked hard to build up a network and get those people on board, just like we worked hard to get into a good school.
[+] [-] jsteele|17 years ago|reply
---- As the first poster said, don't believe everything you read. The media is all about hype and thousandaires don't roll off the page.
The details: the acquisition price was $5 Million which was made up of $2 Million Cash and $3 Million Stock.
There were 3 founders, Harjeet Taggar, Kulveer Taggar, Patrick Collison. Each founder held 20.89% of the company at the time of sale. YCombinator held 4.38%. Paul Graham personally held 0.96%.
20.89% of $5 Million is $1,044,500. Of course they only have 40% of that in cash and the other 60% is in stock. The stock was $2.69 the day the deal closed. It's now trading at $2.40. If they still have their shares, they are worth 10% less which is a loss of $62,670.
That is all before tax. Factor in capital gains tax of 10-15% before the stock drop and you are already out of millionaire territory.
On an unrelated note, each of the founders are now making a base salary $100,000 at Communicate.com. This does not include bonuses, options, etc.
Source: http://www.edgar-online.com/bin/cobrand/?doc=A-1108630-00011....
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So: Cash (40%): $1,044,500 * 40% = $417,800
Stock (60%): March 25, 2008- LIVC 2.69 $1,044,500 * 60% = $626,700 $626,700 / 2.69 = 232,974 Shares
January 23, 2009 - LIVC 0.41 232,974 * 0.41 = $95,519
"to dot-com millions in Silicon Valley - all in just over a year" - article
Yeah right. I hope he sold his shares in March, cause your stock is down 83% and that means he made barely over $500k, before tax!
[+] [-] alaskamiller|17 years ago|reply
[+] [-] babul|17 years ago|reply
(I recall reading Kulveer saying this in own words in his blog, www.kulveer.co.uk, along with the advice PG gave them to keep going and not sell yet, but his blog seems to be down or has a problem so unfortunate I cannot add the source as a reference).
But $500K in a year is still good.
[+] [-] kul|17 years ago|reply
[+] [-] axod|17 years ago|reply
So I don't see there being any useful advice here, apart from maybe "Get to know lots of people, one of which might buy your co. regardless of its merit".
Also the whole saga reminds me of the sad days toward the end of the dotcom bubble, when teenagers were making 'startups', without product, and planning on an exit as soon as possible.
As for live current, just because you own cricket.com, doesn't mean you have any traffic going to it. Premium domain names are just ego trips...
[+] [-] Harj|17 years ago|reply
do you have any data to support that assertion?
[+] [-] unknown|17 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] alaskamiller|17 years ago|reply
1) How were you able to convince Evan Williams to be an adviser initially?
2) Why was it that you were able to raise 180,000 pounds (about US$240k) but it was a YC seed round that got you to come to Silicon Valley?
3) What were your strategies in wooing the likes of Paul Buchheit and Chris Sacca?
[+] [-] babul|17 years ago|reply
Chris Sacca writes it in his own words why... http://www.whatisleft.org/lookie_here/2008/03/thanks-to-auct... ...and elsewhere.
Basicially, to me, it reads because they were passionate about what they were doing (passion), would not let anything stop them (ambition), were able to hack/get things done quickly and efficiently and had some great previous accomplishments (talent, focus, customer care), and were smart.
So, if you possess these qualities, and have a likable-personality, then chances you could woo the Bucheits and Saccas et al of the world (if that is what you desire). Why not?
Otherwise, just get on with building your things, and if it is really something people want, then A) you will get attention this way and B) hopefully make enough cash too to not care about wooing others (maybe I am wrong, but to me it seems people woo only when they want cash/advice/similar rather then pursue friendships because you like each other etc.) :)
[+] [-] pmjordan|17 years ago|reply
[1] http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=GBPUSD=X&t=5y&l=on&#...
[+] [-] byrneseyeview|17 years ago|reply
http://finance.google.com/finance?q=live+current
I wonder how many startups succeed even if they're attached to a sinking parent company.
[+] [-] point|17 years ago|reply
I'm not saying it's bad, but it's just not too helpful to those who did not start off with such good cards.
[+] [-] byrneseyeview|17 years ago|reply
And in a sense, it's more inspiring, since he's giving up a six-figure job to start something new, while most of us would be giving up significantly less.
[+] [-] kul|17 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Harj|17 years ago|reply