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baldajan

579 karma · joined November 17, 2012

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baldajan··on Genius Sells to Media Lab for $80M
I skimmed it ;) But I did looked how much they raised on CrunchBase, seemed to be about equal of the sales price.
baldajan··on Genius Sells to Media Lab for $80M
you're right that my math is wrong in regards to sale_price < real_company_worth - it should have been the other way around... (real_company_worth < sale_price)... I guess I needed more coffee...

max is correct though (whichever value is highest, that sets the base price).

baldajan··on Genius Sells to Media Lab for $80M
Have you ever been part of a company sale before or been at a private meetings/meetups where founders talk about how they sold their business? I've never sold a company, but I've talked privately with many that have (and have raised considerable sums).

Very common that the baseline is the amount of money raised - it's why sometimes companies die and not get sold. Other times, companies will use amount of money raised as leverage to increase the final sale price (based on investor expected returns).

Money raised plays a huge factor in regards to sales price, or if a sale occurs at all.

baldajan··on Genius Sells to Media Lab for $80M
From a pedantic perspective, maybe... another way to put it:

    real_company_worth = sum(valueOf(technology), valueOf(people), valueOf(assets))
    sale_price = max(total_money_raised_owed, real_company_worth)

    if sale_price == total_money_raised_owed {
        sale_price < real_company_worth // likely, since rarely total_money_raised_owed == real_company_worth
    }
Better?
baldajan··on Genius Sells to Media Lab for $80M
The $80 million price tag wouldn't have been achieved if they hadn't raised $80 million first. When an acquisition sells at the same price as money raised, good sign the company isn't worth that much - it's just the minimum $ amount that would allow the Board to sign off on it.

Sometimes that minimum is too high compared to the company value and so no sale happens and the company just dies.

baldajan··on Court issues permanent injunction in Epic vs. Apple case
I'm not sure if you ever used StoreKit or their subscription API... its so full of holes and poor documentation and poor implementation that it's a nightmare to work with (particularly subscriptions). Don't believe me? There's a YC startup raising millions of dollars dedicated to solving the subscription implementation problems Apple has created...
baldajan··on Court issues permanent injunction in Epic vs. Apple case
"purchasing mechanisms" is what's interesting... it's not just information.
baldajan··on WordPressiOS Locked by App Store
Epic is trying to get this done. But the companies are afraid that could trigger anti-trust cases against them. It’s complicated - but they’re watching and I believe big tech has grown tired of Apple’s power.
baldajan··on When a customer refunds your paid app, Apple refunds its 30% cut [edited]
That’s the problem with paid apps... but I also believe now it’s a problem with devs not validating the app receipt to check for refunds and prevent access.

For in-app purchases, up until a few years ago, users would always have access to them (even after a refund) then it followed the same rules as paid apps - access always maintain but one couldn’t restore.

Subscriptions however are unique as a server would constantly check the receipt from Apple, which would show a refund flag, so you could block access. Now they even send you a push notification to your server to indicate a refund.

With iOS 14, in-app purchases will get a “notification” when a user receives a refund on device (with IAP encompassing subscriptions).

So it’s getting better. Not perfect. But better.

baldajan··on Google offers refunds after smart glasses stop working
"for less than they had raised" - that's actually not true and sloppy journalism from the journalists that wrote it.

If you look at North's funding - the difference between the suspected purchase price of $180M and what they raised ($200M) is a $24M loan they received from the government of Canada [1], which was called back shortly after (because of layoffs) [2].

The remaining $4M difference is probably interest on a standard debt financing loan of $40M they received [3] and some rounding error in the $180M suspected purchase price.

It seems Google bought them for the exact amount raised, in both debt and funding.

[1] https://www.itworldcanada.com/article/north-receives-24-mill...

[2] https://www.therecord.com/business/2019/02/22/federal-govern...

[3] https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/north-8daa/company_f...

baldajan··on Launch HN: Reploy (YC S20) – Instant fullstack staging environments for web apps
Majority of people use Chrome. So it’s a very valid tip regardless of what browser I use.
baldajan··on Launch HN: Reploy (YC S20) – Instant fullstack staging environments for web apps
Just a tip: always have your domain start with the brand name. “Get___” “try___” “by___” etc are terrible because when a user is searching to quickly go to your domain, they’ll type your brand name first (as that’s what will come to mind).

In this case “r”, but your site won’t be listed as a quick suggestion cause the domain starts with “g”.

I’d suggest “reployapp” or “reployenv” or something where brand followed by a word/descriptor.

baldajan··on Palantir Announces Confidential Submission of Draft S-1
And the other founder, who is the CEO, absolutely hates Trump...
baldajan··on Google Acquires North
I know them.

Maybe lavish is a bit of hyperbole. And after their 15M series A, I can assume they had competitive salaries given their life decisions (modest homes and cars).

baldajan··on Google Acquires North
"able to maintain their own lifestyles using grants from the Canadian government" - that's absolutely false. North/Thalmic was flush with cash for a long time, and though their Myo didn't sell "well" - it still brought in millions.

Not denying the founders had lavish lifestyles, but they were running a company that raised 15M series A, and 120M series B - so that's honestly "expected". The grant I assume you're referencing was a 34M loan, which was to be paid out over time, and was recalled once North announced layoffs last year.

I won't defend their business decisions or argue they were a "promising startup" - I think they deserve the criticism. But I'd rather not throwout some false stories or accusations.

baldajan··on Sanders unveils plan to boost broadband access, break internet and cable titans
The last 6 years he's been campaigning for progressive ideas. M4A is talked about constantly, he pushed what healthcare should be in America beyond the ACA. He got younger more diverse people elected to congress and on a state level, and has helped unions, workers, and others receive the wages and benefits they deserve by using his current standing as a public figure.
baldajan··on Sanders unveils plan to boost broadband access, break internet and cable titans
He pass substantial veterans aid reform as chairman of the VA committee, and passed it with the help and support of John McCain.

Important to also remember his time as an Independent Congressman, where he passed more amendments than anyone else. And if we are to believe the stories (from both sides of the aisle), he worked behind the scenes to get legislation and amendments done.

The last 6 years he's been campaigning for progressive ideas. M4A is talked about constantly, he pushed what healthcare should be in America beyond the ACA. He got younger more diverse people elected to congress and on a state level, and has helped unions, workers, and others receive the wages and benefits they deserve by using his current standing as a public figure.

Before he went to Washington, as mayor of Burlington, Vermont, he stopped the development of industrial buildings on the lakeshore. He made housing more affordable, by creating more public housing and allowed residents to own their homes (with an asterisk).

And so much more that I need to get back to work...

For a single mayor, congressman, senator from a small eastern state, he's done a ton.

baldajan··on Mark Zuckerberg Has Quietly Advised Pete Buttigieg on Campaign Hires
He came of as progressive because (but not limited to) his views on M4A single payer, defending it and calling it the compromise solution, when comparing it to the UK system, where all hospital are own by the government and doctors work for the government.

That all changed.. just 9 months later

baldajan··on Canada’s fossil fuel subsidies amount to $1,650 per Canadian
The estimate is from 2015 - Trudeau got into Power in Nov. 2015...
baldajan··on Launch HN: RevenueCat (YC S18) – Simple API for Managing In-App Subscriptions
Pricing isn’t clear for larger scale apps. Is the extra charge per $1k on include the first 20k; after a tier is reached, how is the next $1k calculated.

You should have an interactive price meter where we enter MTR and see the costs per month.

You should also specify if MTR includes or excludes Apple’s cut.

A great inclusion to the service is handling timed hooks to send notifications. Like if a user is about to have their trial expires and have their subscription cancelled, sending a notification to remind them of the trial can be helpful.

baldajan··on Theranos Inc.’s Partners in Blood
I believe it’s in the video
baldajan··on Trump Hits China With Stiff Trade Measures
A recession is part of an economic cycle to rebalance misused assets.

More housing isn’t the solution. Many House bubbles had ample housing for people to live in, but not enough for speculation.

Building more houses kicks the bucket down the road as it accumulates more than necessary housing. When a recession hits, and asset bubbles are deflated, speculation goes to zero, and you’re left with an over supply, an indebted society, and the country may lose generations of productivity (what actually happened in Japan in 1990).

baldajan··on Trump Hits China With Stiff Trade Measures
That's one way of kick starting a recession I guess...
baldajan··on The Tale of Theranos and the Mysterious Fire Alarm
I think at this point, investors are trying to salvage what ever tech it has, and sell the company.

No clue why employees are sticking around, maybe they’re currently looking for another job and it’s a slow drop to zero.

baldajan··on John Hennessy named chairman of Alphabet/Google
I have no issues with John Hennessy, but I’m surprised they didn’t give the chairman position to Larry Page, who’s CEO and a Co-Founder. I wonder what’s preventing him from taking over full control...
baldajan··on Google Parent Alphabet and Aramco in Talks to Build Tech Hub in Saudi Arabia
Reading the comments, there seems to be a lot of misconceptions and biases. But one general rule that’s been thrown out the window: Goverment is not the same as the People.

A tech hub, bringing coding, tech and entrepreneurship to a region (any region) is a good thing. It creates opportunities and helps lower and middle income individuals/family grow.

baldajan··on Uber Co-Founder Travis Kalanick Said to Plan Sale of 29% of Stake
You’re underestimating the current oligarchy that exists. That’s why net neutrality is dead. You’re right, it’s not intrinsically true, but it’s pretty damn close to it...

Side note: big companies generally die because they don’t take a real threat seriously, and by the time they do, it’s too late.

baldajan··on Uber Co-Founder Travis Kalanick Said to Plan Sale of 29% of Stake
It doesn’t have to last forever, it just has to last longer than the competitor.
baldajan··on [dead]
This reminds me of when the Conservative government in Canada did similar chest puffing activities. But local police refused to enforce the law. It'll also be interesting to see what state attorney's do. Will they sue the federal government? Will they make it harder for federal prosecutors?

This isn't something you can easily back away from...

baldajan··on Apple Developer Program Membership Fee Waivers Now Available
I think this will be interesting. But the biggest cost to these institutions would probably be developing the app that would be published, rather than $99/year to get it published. But that’s not accounting for volunteers...
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