When I worked for Apple in my home as an iOS support rep, it was difficult. I had never worked for any large company and had no idea to what degree they try to control you. I had only worked for TV stations and video post houses where I was treated as an adult who could manage his own affairs. I was left to do my job and not monitored, measured or evaluated at every turn like I was at Apple. I managed to get through a month of training and two weeks of taking calls and I had to quit. It was the only time in my life where I quit a job without having another lined up. I could not sleep, had involuntarily lost 20 pounds, was having exaggerated gag reflex problems and was losing my sanity. My manager watched, timed and measured everything I did. And I couldn't mentally detach from the calls I took - particularly the ones that went poorly or involved a person who I could not help successfully.
Okay, so yeah some of that is my problem, but some isn't. Apple can be tough to deal with both as an employee and as an acquisition target. I understand how this guy was feeling. I also recognize that they have to be this way because otherwise they will get taken advantage of. I bet there are a lot of scammy, crap companies out there that would love to get snapped up by Apple and probably pitch themselves all the time. I know Apple watches the CSRs so closely, because in the past too many did a bad job, stole hours, angered customers and generally screwed Apple over. So they have no choice but to be tough and a bit heavy handed. Knowing this is great, but it doesn't make it any easier to engage with them. Full disclosure, I'm 62 years old and was 56 when I worked for Apple.
CSR is a hellish job all around. You would have had that experience for any large company’s call center. Spoken from personal experience(s).
You worked in home for Apple? Weird. I worked for Shaw Cable and was so good at tech support it scared me. But having had crappy jobs like that early on, and then moving to jobs where I was less monitored and given fewer restrictions, I actually felt guilty when I wasn’t being 1000% productive all the time. (Though the most open ended job I had ended up being a total mess when it turned out that half the people I was accountable to were trying to set me up to fail because of an internal power struggle in the organization.)
That said, while people accuse the original dev of whining, I think his desire comes through clearly if you yourself aren’t looking for something to whine about.
He wants to make expectations clear for anyone who wants to do the same sort of work. If that’s not you, then move on. He’s not whining, he’s educating.
2. What's it like to sell your company? Well, it's a hellish process that might kill your company if it doesn't work. Also, there's lots of paperwork. This is what my dining room table looked like on day 1 of diligence. pic.twitter.com/2u3I8hCIEU
In my world that is not considered "lot's of paperwork", especially for something like an acquisition. I guess everything is relative to your own experiences. But no matter, I'm sure that getting aquired by a company like Apple is a hellish process.
Wow, that looks like my office desk when it's what I consider "organized." I once worked on a project where we had to rent a van to fit the printed proposal that had to be delivered to the acquisition agency. The reality of what the original author of this article describes is that acquisitions are a big deal, there's a lot of money involved, and there are a lot of risks for both parties. It's never going to be a walk in the park, especially for publicly held companies that are highly secretive for many good reasons. At the end of the day, the principals of the acquired company probably came away from what they viewed as an onerous process much wealthier and wiser for having gone through it. Had it fallen through, they'd probably still have been much better positioned to engage in a similar deal with another company looking to acquire their people and assets after having learned what is involved and a trip through the wringer with Apple. All's well that ends well.
I'm sure the process isn't easy. However, this really comes off as whining to me. Oh, you were stressed in your business life because an international company wanted to acquire your firm? You're kidding. You let it seep into your professional life? Go figure. The owner's entire story comes across like something that happened to him, as if he had no control whatsoever. Any business owner should go in with eyes wide open. Did he not anticipate legal fees and stress and the possibility the deal would fall through? Did he not have contingency plans? Did he not get some kind of assurance from Apple that they would help make him whole if it didn't come to pass? Responsible owners do these things. He obviously was interested, otherwise he would have shut it down right away. I don't see any accusation that Apple made him sell or threatened his existing relationship.
Now, as a former Apple employee, he gets to talk about how hard it was. I'm just not sympathetic.
And you come across as a callous un empathic person to say the least.
Who certainly seems to be unaware of the pressures of running a small business, gambling your financial position, your families position, your colleagues and potentially friends, your work life balance of running a company and dealing with all of this. In a cloud of secrecy without any guarantees trying to do what's best with an incredibly difficult and often seemingly deliberately obstructive company.
I'd wager you don't have experience of the above or dealing with Apple in this regard.
Fair play to him for speaking out, it must of been difficult trying to work out if what was happening is the best thing to do or worthwhile.
1. You are free to interpret my comments any way you chose. My opinion won't change. 2. You don't know me. 3. Ad hominem attacks are not allowed on the boards.
He certainly is able to speak out. And I get to use my freedom to criticize what I view as whining. I acknowledged it was likely difficult, and I'm sure stressful. But no, I'm not going to have empathy for him beyond that. This guy sold his business to Apple and then was was employed by the company. Now he's crying about how hard it was. Nope.
I'm sure the process isn't easy. However, this really comes off as whining to me. Oh, you were stressed in your business life because an international company wanted to acquire your firm? You're kidding. You let it seep into your professional life? Go figure. The owner's entire story comes across like something that happened to him, as if he had no control whatsoever. Any business owner should go in with eyes wide open. Did he not anticipate legal fees and stress and the possibility the deal would fall through? Did he not have contingency plans? Did he not get some kind of assurance from Apple that they would help make him whole if it didn't come to pass? Responsible owners do these things. He obviously was interested, otherwise he would have shut it down right away. I don't see any accusation that Apple made him sell or threatened his existing relationship.
Now, as a former Apple employee, he gets to talk about how hard it was. I'm just not sympathetic.
And you come across as a callous un empathic person to say the least.
Who certainly seems to be unaware of the pressures of running a small business, gambling your financial position, your families position, your colleagues and potentially friends, your work life balance of running a company and dealing with all of this. In a cloud of secrecy without any guarantees trying to do what's best with an incredibly difficult and often seemingly deliberately obstructive company.
I'd wager you don't have experience of the above or dealing with Apple in this regard.
Fair play to him for speaking out, it must of been difficult trying to work out if what was happening is the best thing to do or worthwhile.
1. You are free to interpret my comments any way you chose. My opinion won't change. 2. You don't know me. 3. Ad hominem attacks are not allowed on the boards.
He certainly is able to speak out. And I get to use my freedom to criticize what I view as whining. I acknowledged it was likely difficult, and I'm sure stressful. But no, I'm not going to have empathy for him beyond that. This guy sold his business to Apple and then was was employed by the company. Now he's crying about how hard it was. Nope.
Personally I see it more as a cautionary tale: Be excited that Apple is interested, but put serious thought into whether you are emotionally, legally, and financially prepared if you wish to pursue it. There's apparently far more involved than many of us would presume there to be and Apple can walk away at any time with zero effect on themselves, but leaving the target company in dire straits if they haven't been exceedingly cautious, (especially with delving deep into sharing development and IP) and planned well for a failed outcome.
Framed as that rather than "whining" wouldn't his personal experience be a helpful thing? IMO that was the reason for his comments rather than complaining about the process.
I'm sure the process isn't easy. However, this really comes off as whining to me. Oh, you were stressed in your business life because an international company wanted to acquire your firm? You're kidding. You let it seep into your professional life? Go figure. The owner's entire story comes across like something that happened to him, as if he had no control whatsoever. Any business owner should go in with eyes wide open. Did he not anticipate legal fees and stress and the possibility the deal would fall through? Did he not have contingency plans? Did he not get some kind of assurance from Apple that they would help make him whole if it didn't come to pass? Responsible owners do these things. He obviously was interested, otherwise he would have shut it down right away. I don't see any accusation that Apple made him sell or threatened his existing relationship.
Now, as a former Apple employee, he gets to talk about how hard it was. I'm just not sympathetic.
Your comments sound incredibly out of touch and you’re not paying attention. Of course Apple had all the control. Apple had (has) virtually limitless resources to draw on and the company being acquired did not. Did you even read the article? Hint: Look for the legal fees part.
Your utter lack of sympathy comes off as entirely callous, and your complaint about the guy “whining” makes you sound like a frighteningly irrational corporate fanatic who cannot allow for anyone else’s unpleasant experiences with Apple to be real.
Wow, something struck a nerve.
I'm with '2001 on this one. I don't know if I'd call it "whining" exactly, but there's very little there that is surprising or unexpected. If you're a three-person firm looking to get acquired by a huge corporation, it's going to be stressful, time consuming, and expensive. As for that being a lot of paperwork, have you bought a house lately? Or been audited, or written a grant proposal?
The key point is, you spend that time and effort as a smaller indy company with NO idea if the deal will close. That is stressful beyond a 'stressful day at the office'. I don't think he was 'whining' I think he was sharing his perspective. Since, as it's been pointed out, this isn't a level playing field (we all know that) that makes it an uncomfortable situation in many ways. I think it was interesting to read. Didn't surprise me.
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That said, while people accuse the original dev of whining, I think his desire comes through clearly if you yourself aren’t looking for something to whine about.
1. You are free to interpret my comments any way you chose. My opinion won't change.
2. You don't know me.
3. Ad hominem attacks are not allowed on the boards.
He certainly is able to speak out. And I get to use my freedom to criticize what I view as whining. I acknowledged it was likely difficult, and I'm sure stressful. But no, I'm not going to have empathy for him beyond that. This guy sold his business to Apple and then was was employed by the company. Now he's crying about how hard it was. Nope.
Framed as that rather than "whining" wouldn't his personal experience be a helpful thing? IMO that was the reason for his comments rather than complaining about the process.