[wpietri]

I'm not a lawyer, but I believe a semblance of conscience is sadly not allowed for in a bankruptcy. If the Experiment.com people, like most startups, fail to make it, then I'd think they're by default obligated to get the best price possible for the assets. I think doing anything else (e.g., giving a company asset to a founder) would require a founder to agree.

Like goatforce suggests, I would have made sure the deal includes a buyback clause. I'd do that even as a founder, because a) it's the right thing to do in this case, and b) it would let me negotiate a lower price because I'm not making the guy give up his 15-year dream of making sure it is used for something good.

[wpietri]

Sorry, total fail in that first paragraph, and I missed the edit window. I should have said: I think doing anything else (e.g., giving a company asset to a founder) would require all investors to agree.

[eru]

Or rather, all creditors?

[wpietri]

Yeah in a bankruptcy, definitely. I was thinking back to my last company, which we wound down in an orderly fashion, so only the shareholders mattered. But I definitely said bankruptcy, where it's creditors (and, I suppose, the judge who approves the settlement) who matter.