Four short links: 3 August 2017
Pricing Unicorns, Software Failures, Finding Prices, and Simulating Poverty
- How Unicorns Are Made — One provision frequently afforded to investors is called a liquidation preference. It guarantees a minimum payout in the event of an acquisition or other exit. The study found that it can exaggerate a company’s valuation by as much as 94%. […] Ratchets can inflate a startup’s value by 56% or more, the study said. The study is also interesting reading.
- IRIX 5.1 is a Disappointment — leaked memo from the early ’90s that rings true today.
- Finding the Right Price for Early Customers — Setting an artificially high price, then waiting for the customer to wince (i.e., reject the price), forces an interested customer to negotiate it down. Each negotiation down will get you closer to the maximum price you can expect to charge, whereas always getting a “yes” will not tell you if you could charge more.
- Poverty Pick-A-Path — turn-based game that challenges you to choose between options as a person experiencing poverty. I’m a fan of simulations that help you “experience” the difficulty of situations like balancing the budget, or (in this case) navigating a family downturn. Spoiler: UBI would be nice.
