Putting lipstick on the pig ?? ???

Why we turned down an exit? Putting lipstick on the pig did not make any sense.?

It’s funny for someone who did not like animals until I turned 40 ?? to kick these newsletters off with so many animal references, but here we go.

What I heard.

Jenny, do what you can to find a buyer for Coupleness. When you embark on a new startup journey, it will look so much better in investors' eyes.

Several investors and people in the startup echo system told me this when talking with potential buyers.?

My answer is not to any price.

Of course, we would have accepted any offer that would have benefited our shareholders, and we worked hard for it. However, most potential buyers were more interested in an acqui-hire of Peter Viksten and me than in the company’s other assets.

But we had one offer that (after negotiating) we turned down. That offer would have made us an exit, at least on paper. Financially it would have cost us more with all the work around it than the offer itself, and with the buyer not being interested in continuing with the app, it did not make any sense.

Except for the narrative. What I turned down:

• A LinkedIn bio with an exit
• Headlines in the newspaper?
• ? with investors?
• A conversation starter with a successful aura

But more critically, It would mean I “bought myself” an exit. An exit I don’t need because, you know what, I’m okay with how it turned out.

I’m OK with a liquidation.

I have a story to tell anyway—one without a successful ending and tons of learnings.?

So, why should founders put lipstick on the pig to tap into a success narrative? Don’t investors often discuss failures as essential to founders' journeys and the ability to bounce back?

It’s something itchy here. What do you think?

What happened with calling a spade a spade ????

Ps. To all of you who want to be the first to try a new tool for people in a relationship. Send me a DM on LinkedIn saying, “Increase my relationship happiness by 300%,” and I'll hook you up for our MVP test ??