So You Sold Your Company, Please Let Me Know

Today's post is going to be a bit of a complaint.

It is the natural progression of a business that if you start one and seek outside investors, those investors will want a return. As a result, you will need to sell the business. Added to this challenge in the venture capital-backed startup world is that most of these businesses are not profitable for years (or ever), and as a consequence, need to be sold if they cannot acquire additional outside investment.

All of this is to say, I'm not surprised that founders sell their companies. I've sold my companies, as well (once for a profit, once, not so much).

However, I do think companies owe their early adopters (customers) a notice that you did sell the company. I am tired of finding out what has become the typical way: through a decline in service.

This decline in service is probably why companies don't tell their customers. You may be sticking with a startup to help it out or because you genuinely believe in it. You may not trust the acquirer to maintain it.

I am an early adopter. I meet many founders and want to try their products and support them, as others have supported me. I keep getting the short end of the stick on this, though.

A service I really loved recently was acquired. I had a six-month repeat subscription, so sometime between the last instance and the current one, everything changed. My only clue was that the inbound package came from a new location. That might be fine, but the service (for knife sharpening!) changed from a 3-day turnaround to an I-don't-know-how-many-days-where-the-heck-are-my-knives turnaround.

I want out.

Look, as long as my knives come back soon, it's not a huge deal. I can find another way to sharpen them. Not only is the service now terrible, but I feel that I have no trust in the brand. Many startups are built on trust between the founder and their customers. The personal story of why the company was built and why they care. When they sell without telling you, the trust is broken.

If startups continue to do this, I believe the number of consumers willing to be early adopters will decline.

I have a straightforward request, which is that companies should inform their customers when there is a change in management. It's the polite thing to do.