Dropbox CTO Aditya Agarwal Is Leaving

https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/21/dropbox-cto-aditya-agarwal-is-leaving/

by doppp • 9 years ago

86 21 9 years ago

techcrunch.com

hkmurakami2• 9 years ago

That kind of five-year tenure at a startup in Silicon Valley alone is pretty long, to be sure

Does this journalist not even know about 4 year vesting schedule that are common after an acquisition?

GuiA2• 9 years ago

It's common, but many people do not stick it for the whole 4 years. In fact, I have seen 12-24 months more often than the full 4. If your acquisition was even a tiny bit high profile, any new job offer will come with a stock grant that more than makes up for what you lose by leaving early. (And in fact, if you are in that position, you should be using it as a leverage when negotiating a new job offer)

sulam2• 9 years ago

It really depends on what you think the EV is. Dropbox has pretty high EV if you're in his role, I bet, which is why people are speculating in the first place. (Does this mean Dropbox is not as valuable as it seems from the outside?)

Personally, knowing how hard people there have worked over the last 6 years, I imagine he just needs a break.

stingrae• 9 years ago

There is more to it than just the 4 year vesting schedule. Such as how long the startup gives people to execute options and the amount of taxes owed if you have to execute within 3 months.

jarjoura• 9 years ago

No, I actually believe at that level, job changes are extremely rare unless they are retiring or find an offer they cannot refuse (a big step up, like CTO of Google, etc.).

bluetwo• 9 years ago

I read elsewhere they were looking to IPO later this year. Seems like an odd time to jump ship.

kaspm• 9 years ago

Agreed, especially the statement from the company that they wish him best in future endeavors generally means he is not leaving of his own accord or at best the decision was mutual. There are definitely differences in being an inwardly facing VP, Engineering and an Pre-IPO member of the executive committee. Maybe just wasn't his bag.

m_mueller• 9 years ago

What would you expect the wording to be if it was his own decision?

frik• 9 years ago

That's not unusual at all. A lecture at Harvard Business School about startup IPO mentioned that first time founder CEO and first time board member get more often then not replaced. Read about the business case of Lewis Cirne who got replaced at his first company Wily, and founded later New Relic with many lessons learned.

moonman272• 9 years ago

"Get more often then not replaced" not quite sure what you meant here. Could you say a bit more?

projectramo• 9 years ago

So is Arash Ferdowsi no longer the CTO?

What is his position now?

ccheever• 9 years ago

his position now is just "co-founder". https://www.dropbox.com/about

mikehines• 9 years ago

I wonder if he will join Uber.

moomin• 9 years ago

Depends how many files he's downloaded, I guess.

seshagiric• 9 years ago

Just curious - why is this important? Is it something like given the upcoming IPO, the current investors asked for someone more experienced? but that would be odd considering he was on the tech side and not on business

Dropbox CTO Aditya Agarwal Is Leaving

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