For Cieri, the decision was less about the current state of daily deals, and more about the direction it was heading. Accepting TwitVid’s offer was more about the enticement of joining the TwitVid team than it was about abandoning a sinking ship. “We always had a vision to be much more than a deals company. We wanted to build a social savings network. We were going to move into other areas of commerce, including flash sales. Deals were just the starting point,” says Cieri. It was at this point where Cieri and Reynolds saw one of two routes to go down: pivot or join another startup. After meeting the team at TwitVid, the decision became clear. The Frugalo duo were both impressed by the direction TwitVid was heading, as well as the founders’ passion. “They are young, they are hungry. They’re really doing some amazing things in the social video space, in an area that’s ripe for disruption. We’re excited about the market and felt strongly about what we could bring to the table.” Cieri will be joining on as the new Head of Product and Reynolds will be taking the reigns as Head of Backend Engineering.
Advice to Future Startups
Although Cieri admits that no two startups will ever be in the exact same situation, therefore no one-size-fits-all approach can apply, he has pulled learning lessons from this recent acquisition. Primarily, it’s important to be honest with yourself. Too often, startup founders let their emotional attachment to their company blind what’s the best business decision.
