They new we wanted to know… yet they didnt say anything.
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Yeah, I looked at the comments, but I only saw 1 mention among dozens of protein questions, so I was curious if they said something since people weren’t asking.
Almost there folks, the 4 digits are coming …
Only thing I saw on the podcast was someone noticed DC Rainmaker was in the chat and someone else said something along the lines of “I am sure he is here to hear all about protein. I am sure everybody is here to hear about protein”
It was a subtle wink but they obviously know the question on everybody’s mind.
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I wouldn’t touch their new smart bike or trainer with a 10 foot pole. I know it’s separate from their SW and I guess having somebody building it for them and slapping an orange Z on it but I wouldn’t trust it’ll be any less kludgy than their bloated SW. The slowness they have in addressing bugs and customer complaints is telling. Obviously their focus is growth versus shoring up the foundation of their existing product.
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Since both companies are private, there is essentially no restrictions on their ability to talk. However, there is no upside to them speaking about it because they can’t say anything definitive. most of the questions we have they wouldn’t know - other than are there discussions taking place. And, perhaps most importantly, if things don’t work out, there’s too much explaining to do that mostly brings distraction and doubt.
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There are no regulatory restrictions. But there are tons of other issues, from HR having to manage employee panic without a shred of data to answer, to investors not having been briefed or convinced yet, to suppliers, to…
… customers posting 1002 times on TR forum.
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Am listening now and just heard that part. Definitely a subtle wink of acknowledgment from Jon and Amber.
May have signed a confidentiality agreement. Common in these situations. The silence is speaking volumes!
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I think it shows what a small contingent we are. If all you did was look here, you’d think it was the top thing on everyone’s mind and they would have to turn off commenting from being so plastered with concern on the show. Then you go to the podcast and only 1 or 2 questions were even asked about it.
TR needs to do this regardless of whether anything is said publicly or not.
IMO, there is zero risk to development, product and customer service people, particularly in this high demand environment for such talent. In fact, they will end up better off (greater funding, greater product portfolio opportunities, real equity in a growth company, etc.). The only group that should have concern is admin folks - some will be needed; some not.
- For sure. This active thread probably involved a 0.0#% of the total TR user base.
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Having been in a larger company buying a smaller one, I can definitely say there is a risk of losing employees in the small one. They don’t see “greater funding, greater product portfolio opportunities, real equity in a growth company”, they see less freedom in a large shop, more internal people to compete for resource and attention, and a loss of whichever influence they had over the direction of the company.
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Absolutely! But even without them, there is only downside.
FWIW: These situations are managed differently when there is a public entity involved where public disclosure regulations play an important role. My main point was around “the fact” that they aren’t encumbered by regulatory issues, but rather the tradeoffs of disclosure vs. silence.
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There is likely an NDA in place as well for anyone involved in the discussions or negotiations. Pretty typical for even small companies to have these in place. They won’t be able to discuss anything until it’s finalized and ready to release.
As candid as the team usually is, they aren’t just being quiet because they don’t want to talk about it.
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+1000. Some folks can’t (or choose not to) deal with big company crap. I’m not saying Zwift has a big company culture (I have no idea), but TR’s culture sounds pretty good from an outsider’s perspective.
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Yes!
I have been involved in perhaps a dozen acquisitions (executive and BoD) both being the acquirer and the acquired; private and public; single digit millions to 10s of Bs. In 100% of the situations, communications was critical! Both what Nate says to his employees and what Eric (and his team) says to TR employees. Also, critical will be the compensation package (salary + equity).
But even will all of that, particularly in hot tech environment, you may still loose some. My bet, though, is that # is small unless Nate and Eric do a lousy job at the two items (communications and compensation).
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at least have your kid wear an orange shirt.
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Maybe I’ll fire zwift up on the apple tv, and set them up on my computer with the camera facing it, and have it blaring the annoying menu music in the background.
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