Yet Another Internet Company’s IPO
Nov 18th, 2011 by adrianlai
For the first time since the beginning of the recession, people are excited about IPOs of companies. Among those companies that garnered attention for their IPO is Zynga, a social network game developer famous for games such as Farmville and CityVille. According to the embedded blog, Zynga is looking to begin trading on November 24. Like many internet startups, Zynga recruited many of the industry’s top talents to help develop the company. To motivate and retain these talents, CEO of startups often give out shares of the company to these talents. In Zynga’s case, however, CEO Mark Pincus is starting to develop the “giver’s remorse.” Many of the early employees who received more shares contributed less than the ones employed who got less shares later on. Many of them are simply waiting to cash in on the IPO rather than helping the company.
I don’t agree with the actions of the early employees. Sure, they can argue that without them, the company would not be what it is today. But owning shares of a company means they are part of it and they are directly responsible for the growth and progress of the company. To simply give up after the initial effort is an irresponsible act and should not be condoned. CEO Pincus is now looking to take back some of the shares owned by those early employees, an act I cannot agree more with.