But Citizen had offered them a better deal, didn't they? $740m rather than $40m. [1]
He thought he could make a better deal back in the good days, overestimating the value of his company and NOT selling when the time is right. I don't buy it that he sold to Fitbit because Fitbit promised to keep the employees, this is exactly the bullshit I expect him to say to an interview to paint his story a courageous one.
Pebble was an amazing startup with a lot of potential and good ideas (I find their short developer manual in C as one of the best introductions to C programming with practical examples ever written), but the CEO overestimated his company's maturity and value. Which is a shame. Let's hope Fitbit keeps alive some of the legacy.
Sounds like Eric thought the company could have survived. I give him props for sticking with it as long as possible.