I struggle to see how this story is one of failure. A kid launched a business that is still going 8 years later. He learned that VC funding is a double edged sword and was able to shed some of that burden - buying them out for $1. In the beginning he speaks of building this thing and having it be his lifes work - which it may well be if he keeps going. And yet there was all this talk of being a billion dollar company and an IPO - which is actually as exit strategy. I was floored by the notion that only 20 percent monthly growth was a red flag. 'du fuk you people think you're doing? Launching a rocket? Oh right... SV, VC, etc...
In the end this guy learned a bunch of hard lessons about business, finance, and life. I hope he continues at least until he finds a new adventure, and stops calling it a failure. It may turn out to be exactly what he said he wanted in the beginning: "what I thought would be my life’s work."
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