For background on this question, read the following:
https://gist.github.com/1641705
In recent weeks, I've seen a lot of stories of Internet/software that withered once acquired by a larger company: WinAmp, Flickr, Meebo, etc.
My question is - what are some examples of Internet/software companies that flourished after acquisition? i.e.
- The product / service retained its user experience / brand / identity.
- The user base saw an increase / improvement in feature delivery (rather than a "freeze" of new releases).
- Users were not subjected to "monetization" of the previously free / freemimum business model of the startup, i.e. intrusive banner ads / bloatware forced upon them.
- The acquiring company left the startup management / development team alone, rather than shaking up / forcing out the team that built the company.
Note: Aware of but don't want to include Woot or Zappos, those are e-commerce startups.
In recent weeks, I've seen a lot of stories of Internet/software that withered once acquired by a larger company: WinAmp, Flickr, Meebo, etc.
My question is - what are some examples of Internet/software companies that flourished after acquisition? i.e.
- The product / service retained its user experience / brand / identity.
- The user base saw an increase / improvement in feature delivery (rather than a "freeze" of new releases).
- Users were not subjected to "monetization" of the previously free / freemimum business model of the startup, i.e. intrusive banner ads / bloatware forced upon them.
- The acquiring company left the startup management / development team alone, rather than shaking up / forcing out the team that built the company.
Note: Aware of but don't want to include Woot or Zappos, those are e-commerce startups.