The tech blogosphere was in a flurry of writing about Google’s purchase of Sparrow. For many, even if they were verbally happy for the individuals, there was this bitter residue hanging from every word they wrote.
Some point to Marco Arment as someone who currently refuses to sell out. That’s great – but he is an example in my favor. You might know Marco Arment as the creator of Instapaper, a healthy little business he’s created. Consider that Tumblr received venture capital investment in September 2011 which valued at the company north of $800 million. Marco Arment is one of the founders of Tumblr. He was employee number one. No matter when or how you slice the pie, there is little reason to believe that Marco Arment isn’t ‘set for life’ financially. He placed his wager, worked for and built the right company, and was either able to cash out or leverage his shares to the point where he is today. Now he can do what he wants – and right now – building and running Instapaper as a wildly successful business is what he does. We all win.
It’s a success because the individuals at Sparrow likely now have 7 figure bank accounts and are effectively set for life. They can now do what they like – and if they’re creators and problem solvers, they’re going to create things that solve problems. The only difference is that they no longer have personal financial constraints.
The more ‘new rich’ that buyouts like this create the better. These are the sort of people who go on to do incredible things. This is not because they’re driven by a desire for wealth, but because they now do not ever have to worry about money again. They can focus on doing what they actually want to do regardless of money: creating amazing things, changing the world, and so on. It doesn’t matter how big or small the scale is – from Marco Arment being able to work and create Instapaper to Elon Musk being able to make Tesla and Space X – these acquisitions are positive, game changing events not just for the individuals involved, but for the rest of us as well.
