This Tumblr Flawlessly Shows The Journey Of Having Your Startup Bought
The Tumblr blog, which began in February 2013, is entirely based on the announcements young startups release when their companies are acquired by industry giants, often Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and Dropbox.
The startups always proudly proclaim the good news, usually fawn about future plans with the new company, sometimes thank longtime fans and supporters, and then always announce they're shutting down their service.
It's always a heart breaker, but Our Incredible Journey does a great job pointing out the eerie similarities between each post. Besides the above general formula, the language also stays fairly consistent between the announcements. Startups are always "excited," "delighted," "proud," or "thrilled." Often they reference the "incredible journey" that got them to that point where they can be bought out by a tech giant, hence the name of the blog.
Still, sometimes there are surprises, like when Dispatch - after joining with Meetup - referred its customers to its competitors. Or when any company announces it's shutting down services effective immediately.
Creator Phil Gyford writes on his own blog that Our Incredible Journey started in part as a snarky response to a tech trend he's sick of. He adds that it's equally important to question whether this is the best business model for young tech companies. For Gyford, it seems the enormous companies doing the acquisition are getting some sweet deals, but that's not always the case for the startups our their loyal fan bases.
Are these journeys always incredible? Sometimes. Are they always hilarious in a sad way? Yup.