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VA Linux: Easy Come, Easy Go

Earnings, IPOs, and the like

from the sounds-good dept

Thu, Jan 18th 2001 12:56pm — Mike Masnick
A look at some folks in VA Linux and their response to having a huge fortune and losing it just as quickly. The article makes it out as if everyone there just doesn't care. They're on a mission, and the money doesn't matter. It certainly sounds good. I wonder how many VA Linux employees actually believe it, though.
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5 Comments

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  1. identicon
    Ryan, 18 Jan 2001 @ 1:09pm

    It's the churn rate stupid (i.e. VA linux and not

    I wonder how many VA linux employees are bailing ship, easy come and very easy go! Ha!

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Ed, 18 Jan 2001 @ 4:30pm

    Counting chickens before hatched

    Shortly after the LNUX IPO, somebody well-known in Linux circles (Eric S. Raymond, I think) went public with the fact that he was suddenly worth about 36 million dollars. By the way, that pronouncement seemed to rub a lot of people the wrong way.

    I think that he was subject to some lockup restrictions and/or vesting requirements that meant he couldn't cash in for a couple of years, and now that his huge paper fortune has dwindled to something less than one million, I can't find that original message anywhere.

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 19 Jan 2001 @ 1:07am

    Re: Counting chickens before hatched

    buying put options would have locked up a good percentage of that.

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  4. icon
    Col. Klink (profile), 19 Jan 2001 @ 9:49am

    Re: Counting chickens before hatched

    Here's the link: ESR Writes on "Surprised By Wealth"

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Ed, 19 Jan 2001 @ 11:39am

    Re: Counting chickens before hatched

    I imagine that put options on a highly volatile stock like LNUX immediately after its IPO must have been very expensive, if available at all. Is that correct?

    [ link to this | view in thread ]


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