Quotes: We will pass on our shares if we ever move out
Sunday, November 25th, 2007I’ve been asked – “When someone starts a company, why do I expect they would ever give up a share of ownership and profit-making?”
So it is with delight that I forward this excerpt of an email to you. Short story: two people started renovating a houseboat. They put a lot of time and some money into it. Their friends pitched in and helped out. They got a third person to pay rent. And now one of the founders is moving out.
You might expect the founders would be owners and make a profit from new people who move on board. Instead,
“The good news is that R— and B— and I are keeping the boat and looking for a third person to move aboard.
We’ve decided to collectivize the boat, meaning that everyone here has equal investment and decision-making power, and that R— and I will pass on our shares if we ever move out (seems unlikely though, we’re happy as clams sitting here eating thanksgiving leftovers and typing away in front of the roaring fire).”
The founders actually care about this boat they founded. They want it to build-out and improve over time. Might even be great for them to set term limits on their residency and say, “After three years, we will move out so new people grow what we started in ways we never would have dreamed.”
[Photo is of another houseboat. Maybe this houseboat will sometime get a photographer on board.]
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