Comment by OrigamiPastrami | Hacker News Reader

Comment by OrigamiPastrami | Hacker News Reader

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OrigamiPastrami

> Today we're valued at more than that number and Alexa's core experience hasn't changed in the past year. They haven't been able to copy us. The Alexa leadership team has some hubris IMO.

I can't really evaluate you since you want to stay anonymous, but you're not really giving any credibility here. FAANG being arrogant isn't really any different than flavor-of-the-year tech startup being arrogant. There are numerous stories of high-flying startups that went bankrupt a few years after rejecting an acquisition offer, including significantly multiplying their valuation and raising capital along the way. You're also in an infamously overvalued sector.

I wish you all the best but try not to fall prey to the same mindset you're criticizing Amazon for.

Thanks for writing that. It may be that Alexa made the right decision to pass (time will tell, you're right the valuation itself isn't the best barometer) but the point of my post was simply that the Alexa leadership team felt very arrogant and disrespectful regardless of whether they made the right decision. They acted like we needed them, whereas in my opinion time has shown it was more the opposite.

I can't speak for all startups, but at my company we treat even the tiniest startups with respect, and even if we can't work together we wouldn't approach that decision the way Alexa did.

Anyway, as I mentioned in another comment, the past is the past. The Alexa leadership team is being shaken up and I wish them the best going forward. Just sharing my experience here because it's relevant to the thread.

This is wonderful to hear thanks for mentioning it. My last position as a software engineer at a very well known company I was in countless meetings where third parties or contracting companies were treated downright disrespectfully. Any time I brought this factor up to management or co-workers I was looked at like I was speaking a foreign language. Even in fast paced engineering environments, there is never room for disrespect. I enjoy stories like this and wish you and your company the best.

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