And this is why we can't have nice things - a decent parable about why "startup weekends" are the business equivalent of giving teenagers whiskey and car keys:
For the sake of argument, assume the idea was actually good:
- Legal ownership of the parts of the business are a mess; instead of it being cleanly concentrated in 1 - 3 people, each of whom has a clear "vetted" and "sustained" interest in the business, 8+ people now have options on any success. Recipe for drama.
- The screwed up ownership structure inhibits sane growth. The business is a long way from functional; at least 3 - 4 of the eight people need to show up for work next week and make sustained contributions for months to get a payback. Unfortunately, everyone present at the weekend can muscle in at the end (if successful) and claim a share of that work. So the long term incentive plan has been crippled....
- This team is dysfunctional, at least in the relationship between business guys and tech guys. Billy wasn't open and honest about past work on the concept. He's incapable of controlling his prejudices and working with his team in a respectful manner. This partnership... won't last. Outside the pressure cooker of the event, it wouldn't have started.
- If the business model is truly dependent on technology as the basis of competition, this project is doomed; the business team doesn't respect the value created by the technology side of the effort. Once you view your technical staff as replaceable/exploitable, good luck on creating any value beyond minimum effort results or finding good talent.
- Finally, I think the technical team overvalues their work at this point; there's a large business component that must be completed for anyone to make money. The price that would satisfy them in a cash deal likely wouldn't be feasible for the business team / investors to pay....
tl;dr wrong environment to create a business. More value and more fun would occurred if they spent the weekend developing crazy Youtube animations or JavaScript games....
For the sake of argument, assume the idea was actually good:
- Legal ownership of the parts of the business are a mess; instead of it being cleanly concentrated in 1 - 3 people, each of whom has a clear "vetted" and "sustained" interest in the business, 8+ people now have options on any success. Recipe for drama.
- The screwed up ownership structure inhibits sane growth. The business is a long way from functional; at least 3 - 4 of the eight people need to show up for work next week and make sustained contributions for months to get a payback. Unfortunately, everyone present at the weekend can muscle in at the end (if successful) and claim a share of that work. So the long term incentive plan has been crippled....
- This team is dysfunctional, at least in the relationship between business guys and tech guys. Billy wasn't open and honest about past work on the concept. He's incapable of controlling his prejudices and working with his team in a respectful manner. This partnership... won't last. Outside the pressure cooker of the event, it wouldn't have started.
- If the business model is truly dependent on technology as the basis of competition, this project is doomed; the business team doesn't respect the value created by the technology side of the effort. Once you view your technical staff as replaceable/exploitable, good luck on creating any value beyond minimum effort results or finding good talent.
- Finally, I think the technical team overvalues their work at this point; there's a large business component that must be completed for anyone to make money. The price that would satisfy them in a cash deal likely wouldn't be feasible for the business team / investors to pay....
tl;dr wrong environment to create a business. More value and more fun would occurred if they spent the weekend developing crazy Youtube animations or JavaScript games....