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Should We Sell?
Duas fundadoras discutem uma oferta de compra da sua empresa.
Uma conversa entre iguais em que muito está em jogo. Repara em como as duas argumentam sem prejudicar a relação: concessões, hipóteses (Suppose …, Even if …) e a pergunta sobre o que está realmente a ser negociado.
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.
Um clique numa palavra procura-a no vocabulário deste sítio.
Mais frases sobre isto em «A língua em uso»: Inglês para o trabalho e a carreira
- Palavras
- 365
- Frases
- 34
- Palavras por frase
- 10,7
- no vocabulário
- 100 %
- nível medido
- B1
- Tempo de leitura
- 3 min
Gramática neste texto
Estas formas aparecem no texto em uso real. Com «Mostrar gramática», por cima do texto, ficam destacadas a cor.
Suppose half our customers leave · What if we went back
Hipóteses sem if: Suppose half our customers leave …, What if we went back …? Condições sem if: unless, in case →
may well walk away
may well quer dizer «podem muito bem» — mais forte do que um simples may. Modais de probabilidade →
we would be paying
Uma consequência imaginada com would: we would be paying for that decision ourselves. A condicional de tipo 2 →
As palavras a partir de C2 neste texto
Não as palavras difíceis em geral, mas as do teu nível: todas as 1 das 180 palavras deste texto estão em C2 ou acima. Tudo o resto já conheces quando chegas aqui.
founder
o fundador
C2
As listas de palavras deste texto
As palavras deste texto estão em 34 listas deste sítio; o número a seguir diz quantas vêm de cada lista. Quem leu o texto acabou de precisar precisamente destas palavras — e pode praticar exatamente essas.
Perguntas de compreensão
5 perguntas sobre o texto. A cada resposta aparece a frase em que ela está — uma pergunta cuja resposta não se encontra no texto não avalia nada.
1. Porque é que é precisamente o valor da oferta que deixa a Beth desconfiada?
A primeira fala da Beth.
Repara na palavra «generous».
I start asking what they think they are buying that we do not see
2. Que risco vê a Beth na parte do preço paga em ações?
Lê a fala da Beth com «Suppose».
Repara na palavra «shares».
we would be paying for that decision with our own money
3. Qual é o argumento mais forte da Nadia a favor da venda?
Lê a fala da Nadia com «Granted».
Repara em «cash left».
We have eighteen months of cash left
4. Que condições propõe a Beth?
Lê a proposta da Beth com «What if».
Repara em «conditions».
Two years before any migration
5. Em que acordam as duas no fim?
Lê a última fala da Beth.
Repara na palavra «accept».
If they accept, I sign