This is the 4th pivot for Seesmic? Can early investors ask for their money back if the nature of the business changes from what they originally invested in?
Nope. That's part of the risk assumed by investors.
Plus "you can't get blood from a stone"---how much of that money exists that they could pull it out? And whose money is it exactly when you have multiple investors? At best they would only be entitled to a fraction of a fraction.
It would also set a bad precedent for companies they've invested in if startsup are not allowed to adapt because they'd lose funding, making it more likely that investments fail due to stagnation.
Plus "you can't get blood from a stone"---how much of that money exists that they could pull it out? And whose money is it exactly when you have multiple investors? At best they would only be entitled to a fraction of a fraction.
It would also set a bad precedent for companies they've invested in if startsup are not allowed to adapt because they'd lose funding, making it more likely that investments fail due to stagnation.