C2DialogueCarrière3 min
Should We Sell?
Deux fondatrices se disputent au sujet d’une offre de rachat de leur entreprise.
Une conversation entre égales où l’enjeu est important. Observe comment elles argumentent sans abîmer leur relation : concessions, hypothèses (Suppose …, Even if …) et la question de savoir ce qui se négocie vraiment.
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.
Un clic sur un mot le cherche dans le vocabulaire de ce site.
- Mots
- 365
- Phrases
- 34
- Mots par phrase
- 10,7
- dans le vocabulaire
- 100 %
- niveau mesuré
- B1
- Temps de lecture
- 3 min
La grammaire dans ce texte
Ces formes figurent dans le texte en situation réelle. Avec « Afficher la grammaire », au-dessus du texte, elles sont surlignées.
Suppose half our customers leave · What if we went back
Des hypothèses sans if : Suppose half our customers leave …, What if we went back …? Autres conditions : unless, in case →
may well walk away
may well veut dire « pourraient très bien » — plus fort qu’un simple may. Les modaux de probabilité →
we would be paying
Une conséquence imaginée avec would : we would be paying for that decision ourselves. La conditionnelle de type 2 →
Les mots à partir de C2 dans ce texte
Pas les mots difficiles en général, mais ceux de ton niveau : les 1 des 180 mots de ce texte sont au niveau C2 ou au-dessus. Le reste, tu le connais en arrivant ici.
founder
le fondateur
C2
Les listes de mots de ce texte
Les mots de ce texte figurent dans 34 listes de ce site ; le nombre qui suit indique combien viennent de chaque liste. Après la lecture, ce sont précisément ces mots dont on a eu besoin — et on peut réviser exactement ceux-là.
Questions de compréhension
5 questions sur le texte. À chaque réponse s’affiche la phrase où elle se trouve — une question dont on ne retrouve pas la réponse dans le texte ne vérifie rien.
1. Pourquoi est-ce justement le montant de l’offre qui rend Beth méfiante ?
La première réplique de Beth.
Fais attention au mot « generous ».
I start asking what they think they are buying that we do not see
2. Quel risque Beth voit-elle dans la part du prix payée en actions ?
Lis la réplique de Beth avec « Suppose ».
Fais attention au mot « shares ».
we would be paying for that decision with our own money
3. Quel est l’argument le plus fort de Nadia en faveur de la vente ?
Lis la réplique de Nadia avec « Granted ».
Fais attention à « cash left ».
We have eighteen months of cash left
4. Quelles conditions Beth propose-t-elle ?
Lis la proposition de Beth avec « What if ».
Fais attention à « conditions ».
Two years before any migration
5. Sur quoi se mettent-elles d’accord à la fin ?
Lis la dernière réplique de Beth.
Fais attention au mot « accept ».
If they accept, I sign