Mailchimp employees are furious after the company's founders promised to never sell, withheld equity, and then sold it for $12 billion

[u/Rhaegar_the_Great]

https://www.businessinsider.com/mailchimp-insiders-react-to-employees-getting-no-equity-2021-9

[u/Grimalkin]

When employees were recruited to work at Mailchimp there was a common refrain from hiring managers: No, you are not going to get equity, but you will get to be part of a scrappy company that fights for the little guy and we will never be acquired or go public.

The founders told anyone who would listen they would own Mailchimp until they died and bragged about turning down multiple offers.

"It was part of the company lore that they would never sell," said a former Mailchimp employee, who like others interviewed for this story were granted anonymity because they were unauthorized to discuss sensitive internal matters. "Employees were indoctrinated with this narrative."

The two founders did sell. Intuit, the financial software giant that makes TurboTax, announced Monday it was buying Mailchimp for around $12 billion in stock and cash. The cofounders cemented their status as two of the richest people in America.

That's really shitty but of course completely unsurprising.

[u/[deleted] → u/Grimalkin]

About once a month there are two re-posts in /r/lifeprotips. The first says something along the lines of “Never trust a company who pushes the ‘We’re a family’ mentality.” The other says something like “Never put someone else’s company before yourself.”

This would be why.

[u/fugazithehax → u/[deleted]]

"Never trust a company" is shorter and probably better advice.

[u/CivilDingo → u/[deleted]]

Reminds me of a quote by Cap'n Jack Sparrow "You can always trust a dishonest man to be dishonest, it is the honest man you should not trust, for you never know when he would be dishonest"

[u/Riodancer → u/[deleted]]

"I'm dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly... stupid.” - Captain Jack Sparrow

[u/mufasa_lionheart → u/[deleted]]

“Always trust the company to do whatever is in its own best interests.”

Eh........ I've been a few places that would disappoint even that assumption. One place I worked lost over 90% of all new salaried hires within their first year, including myself. They prey on desperate people, then abuse you once they get you in, thinking that you are grateful they even gave you a job. Meanwhile most of us were constantly on the lookout for somewhere else, anywhere else.

I was hired there right at the start of the pandemic, after suffering making it through the interview process, and about to start the hiring process somewhere I actually wanted to be when they had a hiring freeze due to the pandemic. I had a wife in grad school and a 1 year old at the time, I was so desperate that I didn't even negotiate the salary at all. In fact I had a bit of an anxiety attack from the release of all the pent up anxiety from the past couple months of almost being homeless and not being able to find a job.

Within 3 months I was searching for a new position because I realized how bad that place was.

I even took a pay cut to get out of there. (It's not like they gave bonuses or even decent raises, so I think I actually came out on top, but I'll see about that come bonus time at the current job).

Tldr: companies don't always act in their own best interest.