C2DialogoCarriera3 min
Should We Sell?
Due fondatrici discutono su un’offerta di acquisto per la loro azienda.
Una conversazione tra pari in cui c’è molto in gioco. Fai attenzione a come entrambe argomentano senza rovinare il rapporto: concessioni, ipotesi (Suppose …, Even if …) e la domanda su che cosa si stia davvero trattando.
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 su una parola la cerca nel lessico di questo sito.
Altre frasi sul tema in «La lingua in azione»: Inglese per il lavoro e la carriera
- Parole
- 365
- Frasi
- 34
- Parole per frase
- 10,7
- nel lessico
- 100 %
- livello misurato
- B1
- Tempo di lettura
- 3 min
Grammatica in questo testo
Queste forme compaiono nel testo in un uso reale. Con «Mostra la grammatica», sopra il testo, vengono evidenziate.
Suppose half our customers leave · What if we went back
Ipotesi senza if: Suppose half our customers leave …, What if we went back …? Altre condizioni: unless, in case →
may well walk away
may well significa «potrebbero benissimo» — più forte di un semplice may. Probabilità: must, might, can’t →
we would be paying
Una conseguenza immaginata con would: we would be paying for that decision ourselves. Il periodo ipotetico di tipo 2 →
Le parole da C2 in su in questo testo
Non le parole difficili in assoluto, ma quelle del tuo livello: tutte le 1 delle 180 parole di questo testo sono di livello C2 o superiore. Tutto il resto lo conosci già, se sei arrivato fin qui.
founder
il fondatore
C2
Le liste di parole di questo testo
Le parole di questo testo si trovano in 34 liste di questo sito; il numero accanto dice quante vengono da ciascuna lista. Chi ha letto il testo ha appena avuto bisogno proprio di queste parole — e può ripassare esattamente quelle.
Domande di comprensione
5 domande sul testo. A ogni risposta compare la frase in cui si trova — una domanda la cui risposta non si ritrova nel testo non verifica niente.
1. Perché proprio l’entità dell’offerta rende Beth diffidente?
Il primo intervento di Beth.
Fai attenzione alla parola «generous».
I start asking what they think they are buying that we do not see
2. Quale rischio vede Beth nella parte del prezzo pagata in azioni?
Leggi l’intervento di Beth con «Suppose».
Fai attenzione alla parola «shares».
we would be paying for that decision with our own money
3. Qual è l’argomento più forte di Nadia a favore della vendita?
Leggi l’intervento di Nadia con «Granted».
Fai attenzione a «cash left».
We have eighteen months of cash left
4. Quali condizioni propone Beth?
Leggi la proposta di Beth con «What if».
Fai attenzione a «conditions».
Two years before any migration
5. Su che cosa si accordano le due alla fine?
Leggi l’ultimo intervento di Beth.
Fai attenzione alla parola «accept».
If they accept, I sign