C2DialogBeruf3 Min.
Should We Sell?
Zwei Gründerinnen streiten über ein Kaufangebot für ihre Firma.
Ein Gespräch unter Gleichen, in dem viel auf dem Spiel steht. Achte darauf, wie beide argumentieren, ohne die Beziehung zu beschädigen: Einräumungen, Hypothesen (Suppose …, Even if …) und die Frage, was eigentlich verhandelt wird.
I have read the offer three times now, and I keep arriving at the same place. It is more money than either of us ever expected to see. I think we should take it.
I know. That is exactly what worries me. When an offer is this generous, I start asking what they think they are buying that we do not see.
They are buying our customers and our software. It is no secret.
They are buying our customers’ trust, which is a different thing. Within a year of the deal, they intend to move everyone onto their own platform. Suppose half our customers leave as a result. The offer is paid in part in shares, so we would be paying for that decision with our own money.
Granted, the share part is a risk. But consider the alternative. We have eighteen months of cash left. Even if the next funding round goes well, we spend the following two years raising money instead of building anything.
That is a fair point, and I do not have a good answer to it. What I have is a question. When we started, we said we were building something that would still exist in twenty years. Do we still mean that, or was it just something founders say?
I meant it. I still mean it. But I also have a mortgage and a team of forty people who are counting on us to make a sensible decision rather than one based on feelings.
Then let us make it a sensible one. What if we went back to them with conditions? Two years before any migration, a guarantee that the team stays together, and more of the price in cash.
They may well walk away.
They may. And if they do, we will have learned that they wanted us less than the offer suggested, which is worth knowing before we sign anything rather than after.
All right. I can live with that. But if they accept the conditions, you agree to sign, and we stop discussing this every evening.
Agreed. If they accept, I sign, and I will not say “I told you so” for at least a year.
I have read the offer three times. It is more money than we ever expected. I think we should take it.
I know. That is what worries me. When an offer is so generous, I ask myself what they are buying that we do not see.
They are buying our customers and our software. That is not a secret.
They are buying our customers’ trust. In the first year, they want to move everyone onto their own platform. What if half our customers leave? Part of the price is paid in shares, so we would pay for that decision with our own money.
True, the shares are a risk. But what is the other choice? We have money for eighteen more months. Even if we find new money, we will spend two years looking for money and not building anything.
That is a fair point. I do not have a good answer. But when we started, we said we wanted to build something that would still exist in twenty years. Do we still mean that?
Yes, I still mean it. But I also have a mortgage, and forty people in our team need us to make a sensible decision, not one based on feelings.
Then let us make a sensible one. We could go back to them with conditions: two years before they move our customers, a promise that the team stays together, and more of the price in cash.
Maybe they will say no.
Maybe. Then we know that they did not want us as much as the offer said. It is better to know that before we sign.
All right. But if they accept the conditions, you sign, and we stop talking about this every evening.
Agreed. If they accept, I sign. And I will not say “I told you so” for a year.
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Grammatik in diesem Text
Diese Formen stehen im Text in echtem Gebrauch. Mit „Grammatik zeigen“ über dem Text werden sie farbig markiert.
Suppose half our customers leave · What if we went back
Hypothesen ohne if: Suppose half our customers leave …, What if we went back …? Bedingungen ohne if: unless →
may well walk away
may well heißt „durchaus könnten“ — stärker als bloßes may. Vermutungen mit must und might →
we would be paying
Eine gedachte Folge mit would: we would be paying for that decision ourselves. if-Satz Typ 2 →
Die Wörter ab C2 in diesem Text
Nicht die schweren Wörter überhaupt, sondern die deiner Stufe: alle 1 von 180 Wörtern dieses Textes stehen auf C2 oder darüber. Alles andere kennst du, wenn du hier angekommen bist.
founder
Stifter
C2
Die Wortlisten zu diesem Text
Die Wörter dieses Textes stehen in 34 Listen dieser Seite; die Zahl dahinter sagt, wie viele davon aus welcher Liste kommen. Wer den Text gelesen hat, hat gerade diese Wörter gebraucht — und kann genau sie abfragen.
Verständnisfragen
5 Fragen zum Text. Zu jeder Antwort erscheint der Satz, in dem sie steht — eine Frage, deren Antwort man im Text nicht wiederfindet, prüft nichts.
1. Warum macht gerade die Höhe des Angebots Beth misstrauisch?
Beths erster Beitrag.
Achte auf das Wort „generous“.
I start asking what they think they are buying that we do not see
2. Welches Risiko sieht Beth beim Teil des Preises, der in Aktien gezahlt wird?
Lies Beths Beitrag mit „Suppose“.
Achte auf das Wort „shares“.
we would be paying for that decision with our own money
3. Was ist Nadias stärkstes Argument für den Verkauf?
Lies Nadias Beitrag mit „Granted“.
Achte auf „cash left“.
We have eighteen months of cash left
4. Welche Bedingungen schlägt Beth vor?
Lies Beths Vorschlag mit „What if“.
Achte auf „conditions“.
Two years before any migration
5. Worauf einigen sich die beiden am Ende?
Lies Beths letzten Beitrag.
Achte auf das Wort „accept“.
If they accept, I sign