while he had already had profitable "exits" before, and doesn't need the money, other members of the About.me team had not. While Conrad isn't disclosing the size of the deal, it's apparently enough money to be an amazing Christmas bonus for his teammates.
If that was really one of the major motivators here, I think it's super cool and it makes me respect the decision a lot more. Still, it must be nice to have that much leverage - seems like this guy could literally make just about anything and sell it to AOL.
In the days of facebook and groupon, it's nice to see someone get in, take the money and get out as quick as they can. Sometimes it is all about the money.
i think frommer did a great job analyzing the situation. my guess is there were too many question marks surrounding the future of the company.
for all we know, they could have been at the core of our entire social experience. on the flipside, they may have never found a sustainable model once the hype cycle died down.
kudos to tom conrad for padding his track record...
Haha at first, I would have agreed with you. The recent spate of related HN articles drove me to make an account, though, and I'm pleasantly surprised: the attention to detail and smooth user experience stand in stark contrast (for better or for worse) to the "move fast, break things" mantra that has become popular. I'm not saying that this level of quality could not be achieved in much less than a year, but these guys clearly took their time and put some thought into their product. It seems to have worked for them!
If that was really one of the major motivators here, I think it's super cool and it makes me respect the decision a lot more. Still, it must be nice to have that much leverage - seems like this guy could literally make just about anything and sell it to AOL.