My friend told me to quit building GlomeSpace after he had watched a TikTok video I made a few days ago about the two companies that got acquired, and the founders got $0 on the total deal.
​
Divvy Homes, a real estate venture-backed company, was acquired in January 2025 by Brookfield Properties for approximately $1 billion (yes, a 'B'), and the founders got $0! Even the very earliest investors, who took the highest risk, also got $0.
​
FanDuel is another company that was acquired in 2018 for approximately 640 million (that is almost half a billion), and the founders got $0!
​
​What caused this?​
Before we go into what caused this, let's first understand what it takes to build a successful startup.
​
In 2008, when cash ran low, the founders of Airbnb created and sold custom-designed, politically themed cereal boxes—"Obama O’s" and "Cap’n McCain"—which generated $30,000.
The founders even had to sacrifice their own apartments for their clients, so they could generate revenue.
Elon Musk famously slept in the office to meet deadlines and persisted through near-bankruptcies for both Tesla and SpaceX.
​
There are a lot of founder-grind stories, many of which I have not covered in this letter.
​
​But what caused this?​
When founders were signing investment term sheets with investors on later rounds of funding, investors requested for "liquidation preferences"; this is where investors request to be paid first in case of an exit.
These investors had signed huge checks and weren't ready to lose their money, but the total amount they had to get was so a lot that the common shareholders ( founders, employees, etc.) were left with nothing.
​
"So if this is the paycheck, what is the intention of building the company if the founders can even get as low as nothing?" My friend asks.
First, we have to understand that these cases are not the default cases; we've seen founders who go home with huge checks.
Second, I think building a company shouldn't necessarily be about the end goal, but the journey. Well, I know this does not justify the fact, but at least it reduces the shock in case this is to happen.
​
​Takeaway: Whether you're building a startup, doing a 9-5, or doing anything in life, don't focus on the end goal, enjoy what you're doing as marriage. There's no end goal of marriage, you just enjoy every day like it were the last day.
​
Thanks for reading. If you'd like to check out our services, find us at app.glomespace.com. GlomeSpace connects Shipment owners with Travelers, call it the Airbnb for Logistics. So shipping can be done faster and cheaper than traditional logistics providers.