14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has recently purchased Android and iOS keyboard developer SwiftKey for $250 million (€225 million) in one of the largest acquisitions the company has completed in the mobile business.
But while the takeover itself is impressive, there’s another untold story behind this deal.
Chris Hill-Scott, one of the three co-founders of SwiftKey, who created the application in 2008, decided to leave the company soon after the keyboard was launched and give up on his share for… a bike.
That’s right, one of the co-founders of this super valuable company decided to give up his ownership share of the firm, and in exchange he got not money, but a bicycle. The other two founders, Jon Reynolds and Ben Medlock, took over his share and are now $250 million richer.
In case you’re wondering, The Times estimates that Hill-Scott would have made around $36 million (€32 million) should he kept his company shares.
And at this point, you’re probably wondering how much money he makes now that he’s no longer a SwiftKey owner. It appears that Hill-Scott actually left SwiftKey to become a civil servant, so he’s currently working for the Government Digital Sevice, making around $80,000 (€72,000) a year.
“He left on good terms”
Hill-Scott couldn’t hide his frustration after Microsoft officially announced the SwiftKey takeover, writing on Twitter that selling the shares was “the biggest mistake I ever made.” Ironically, he left the company because he didn’t agree with the long hours and the financial instability that a startup the level of SwiftKey in 2008 had.
Soon after this tweet, Hill-Scott decided to make his account private, as his comments quickly became viral and attracted all kinds of rude remarks. But according to the other two founders of the company, Hill-Scott actually left on good terms.
“When SwiftKey was founded there were three founding members, Chris was a friend of Jon’s from school and Ben was a friend from his university in Cambridge. Two months after forming the company Chris decided to leave; Jon and Ben bought his shares.”
So there you go, the next time you have a bad day, just think that you could always give up on $36 million for a bike.