These sort of shenanigans make me wary of using any service that has raised a considerable amount of external funding. Believe it or not, VCs (as opposed to angels) are only in it to get a good return. This frequently forces companies to sell out at the detriment to their customers (given the lack of IPOs as a viable exit option). I get that the founders are in it to make money as well, but don't expect anyone to use your service knowing well that you could just choose to sell out tomorrow.

I wonder if we studied funded start ups over the last 10 years, whether we'll see a pattern of selling out and then discontinuing service.