Some final words on Foursquare.

Foursquare, the location-tech company founded in 2009, was acquired and the deal left equity holders with nothing. A former angel investor, who is also the company's early CEO and later chair, reports that a legal document stated preferred stock was "cancelled and extinguished" with no payment, and common shareholders received nothing either. The sale followed a long decline. Foursquare reported $100M+ revenue years in 2019 through 2021, but in 2019 it took on private equity capital, acquired Placed, and then 19 months later the banker who led that raise became CEO in January 2021. The author argues that leadership under that CEO failed to preserve or create value over the following six years. The author is blunt about the handling of the ending. Current employees learned their shares were worthless through an email from the legal team after an all-hands meeting, and former employees got the news through a Carta email with the details buried in a 125-page PDF. The author says nobody in leadership owned the outcome, and cites a long run of negative Glassdoor reviews and frustrated messages from staff. He also takes his own share of blame. He was CEO for the first seven years, raised both equity and debt, and remained chair or co-chair for 17 years while the company kept raising money. He admits he could have pushed harder on the board, though he held only one of seven seats. The second half of the post shifts to lessons and personal reflection. The author says his biggest career mistake was getting too attached to the company and staying too long, believing he was helping when leadership didn't want his help. He calls the closure cathartic and says he regrets never really moving on. He still praises the culture and says Foursquare's features influenced products like Google Maps and Snapchat, and that its alumni network keeps supporting each other. His advice to founders is to love what you build but leave room for closure and a clean exit when the time comes.