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Comment by hkmurakami | Hacker News Reader

He's got FU money. He has fame and recognition. He has no reason to sell to Google at this point in his life.

I doubt all the engineers he has hired who have stock options have FU money. That would probably be a consideration.

This did cross my mind. In this case parent's post should be "if the product fails they'll try to sell to Google". If the company has traction he'll be swinging for the fences and maintaining control.

Yeah, basically either get what value you can in the worst case. The best case will still get your people value even if you maintain control.

Why would that be a consideration?

We'd all hope so, but in practice it only depends on the board of Rubin's company and their goals.

Because you really need to think of the reasons you were able to recruit those engineers with stock. Getting some value for that stock should be a consideration even for a flop. Success will probably take care of itself.

> Why would that be a consideration?

In a startup company, everyone should be on the same page. A founder with FU money is not on the same page as an engineer risking 2-3 years for a shot at FU money. I'm almost certain that investors would look at an FU money founder differently than a ramen founder.

As a startup engineer, I have done this. There are startups. There are corporations. Both have their place and their appeal. But I'll avoid corporate startups.

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