Good Week @ 996Outpost.com

[32wildbilly]

It's interesting that slash-and-burn acquisitions are the norm regardless of the industry...

My two business partners (both colleagues from my previous employer) and I quit as soon as "The Daves" showed up and started interviewing people to find out what they did for a living. PRO TIP: If you are working somewhere, and one day you realize they have hired

consultants

to come in and figure out what the people who work there for a living actually do, GET OUT NOW*. Interviewing for the job you already have is M&A shorthand for "let's figure out who we can fire now, and who we have to fire later."

The only reason small business thrives in this country: entrepreneurs are willing to work harder and/or smarter than their competitors in order to provide a product or service that is either unique to them or that surpasses the competition in terms of quality and/or affordability.

The drag: Acquirers are greedy; they want to recoup their investment AND the expected profit in the shortest time possible. This typically means that:

* R&D gets scrapped. Keep selling what exists.
* Quality goes down the shitter. Sure, the ones made in-house on awesome equipment by the guy that invented your widget are fantastic, but they'll probably be pretty good-ish when made in some dumpy factory in China (or San Miguel de Allende, or Pasadena - it doesn't matter) by a guy who gives ZERO shits about your customers.
* Race to the bottom! Hire the sorriest excuses for employees you can find and provide the least level of support possible to give some semblance of ongoing development and support. In other words, staff the entire concern with "red shirts" who will not be beamed back up once the doors are shuttered.

Our customers were accustomed to calling in, explaining their situations, and receiving real-time support including code troubleshooting and assistance. The new staff's go-to troubleshooting checklist started with this item:
"1) Would you like to exchange [product] for a different game?"

It was educational.

*Get Out Now - this only applies if you have marketable skills and/or you're employable. If you're not, why quit? Enjoy the ride. Maybe there will be a severance package...

It is incredibly apparent that the above guy has been through this because it is so true. Consultant...guy who comes in looks at your watch and tells you what time it is or an "expert consultant" can be defined as someone more than 50 miles from home and carries a briefcase. This happens not only in small business or acquisitions. It happens every day in big business, as well. Back in the day I was instructed to layoff @ 125 employees on Dec. 18th so the company would look better to Wall Street in January. Later in my career I instructed to lay off @ 250 people from a shop of 375 so corporate management could bust a union strong hold. Two of the most difficult things I had to do in 30 years of management. Corporate types could give two craps about the human factor. It's all about the MONEY! I was so pleased to notify my boss two years later that in 30 days I was retiring at the age of 55. After 30 days they had the balls to call me and ask me to move to a job in the town where I had already bought a house for retirement. "Of course we can't cover your moving expenses as we know you have already moved." I laughed so hard I could hardly spit out: "REALLY...I don't think so!" Now...I got all that off my chest and it's a good thing I quit drinking 10 years ago or I would be back out in the garage with a vodka bottle.

[wyovino]

Yep, I've seen it happen several times in my career. It's never good. I worked for a 125 year old company that treated it's 60,000 employees worldwide very well. After we were purchased, the conquering CEO laid-off 10,000 people in order to free up money so he could buy an NHL team. That was just the first round of layoffs.

[Dr_Strangelove]

Give Jason a try - I think the overwhelming majority of people who have done so have had a great experience.

Hell yeah, add me to the list of satisfied customers.

[KoB]

@DeckMan —

Discouraging (if unsurprising), but thanks for the heads up on ECS (and Pelican). Also, good on you for doing what you could to protect your people. Too many executives never learn that loyalty has to run both ways.

[gnat]

Personally I've always had good interactions with ECS, but it's been a few years since I've needed to get anything. Bummer if it's all true. A Private Equity buyout is never a good thing for anyone other than the PE top brass

Double bummer if Pelican has indeed been picked up too. Damn good place even if they tend to be pricier.

I do need some 996 stuff though so I guess it's time to get to know Jason...

[FRUNKenstein]

I had heard from Jason last fall that Pelican got bought out, but he didn't share any particulars. I think the topic was starting a forum on his site for DIYs and such. If the above is true, then I wonder if the forums and DIYs on Pelican will survive. I would hate to see the DIYs get shitcanned.

[gnat]

With an equity firm in charge you can count on them going away if they cost more than a penny to maintain.

[Cuda911]

One of the founders of Pelican is a good friend of mine. I can get the inside poop.

[TheDeckMan]

One of the founders of Pelican is a good friend of mine. I can get the inside poop.

Nice! Yeah the last couple orders that said items were in stock ended up being a week+ before they even shipped similar to ECS's nonsense. Hope it was just a bad timing.

[DTMiller]

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