If these people were underperforming, then why didn't Pincus address the issue before now? Why do it now, when Zynga appears to be preparing to IPO?
This strikes me as pure greed. Pincus offered people shares as part of a package to persuade them to come work at his risky startup. He made a deal and now he wants to go back on it.
Say what you like about Bill Gates but he was perfectly comfortable with early Microsoft employees like Andrea Lewis growing rich from their share options.
PS: Lots of people talk about the greed on Wall Street but it strikes me that the prospect of riches is causing greed to rear its ugly head in the startup scene too. What's more, people seem to turn a blind eye to it if the perpetrator has been successful. It's disappointing and I think it bodes ill for the entire sector.
PS: Lots of people talk about the greed on Wall Street but it strikes me that the prospect of riches is causing greed to rear its ugly head in the startup scene too. What's more, people seem to turn a blind eye to it if the perpetrator has been successful. It's disappointing and I think it bodes ill for the entire sector.
Very ill. We'll never know the real numbers, but it wouldn't surprise me if Mark Pincus has done $1+ billion worth of damage to the startup ecosystem. Fewer people will want to work for options/equity because of this story (which has caught on outside of our echo chamber) and the reputation of Silicon Valley's leadership has taken a hit.
On the flip side, this is a great opportunity for Facebook and Google+ to repair their reputations. Drop Zynga. Denounce Pincus. I don't know about Facebook, but the vast majority of Google engineers who have to work with Zynga detest that company, so this move would also be beneficial for internal morale at many companies.
This strikes me as pure greed. Pincus offered people shares as part of a package to persuade them to come work at his risky startup. He made a deal and now he wants to go back on it.
Say what you like about Bill Gates but he was perfectly comfortable with early Microsoft employees like Andrea Lewis growing rich from their share options.
PS: Lots of people talk about the greed on Wall Street but it strikes me that the prospect of riches is causing greed to rear its ugly head in the startup scene too. What's more, people seem to turn a blind eye to it if the perpetrator has been successful. It's disappointing and I think it bodes ill for the entire sector.