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#Huddle is being sold

Huddle was the creme of #Webmission08 (20 hottest tech startups of UK in 2008). My #edocr was then the smallest of the 20. Their mantra was #GoBigorGoHome – they lived by it and was run by the dynamic duo of Alastair Mitchell and Andy McLoughlin. Their massive break came when they started to sell to UK Government through #GCloud. They even pulled a PR stunt in front of #Sharepoint conference, as they saw themselves as the natural player to disrupt the growth of #Sharepoint.

But just like we have seen elsewhere, you sometimes do not see the competition. In this case, emergence of Box and Dropbox, raising far higher VC rounds than Huddle could brought an abrupt end to the growth potential of Huddle.

Being very clever, Ali and Andy must have seen what’s coming round the corner and got themselves out in 2015.

Ironically they raised $89.2 million of investment and seem to be selling at $89million, wiping out the value of ordinary shareholders.

Whilst everyone is lured into starting a tech business these days, running a tech business is extremely hard. It is a roller coaster journey. Even raising $89 million does not guarantee longevity.

Of course this is not the end for Huddle. No. 1 priority for any business is survival.

Update:

The transaction has been confirmed by Huddle CEO, Morten Brøgger in their blog.

References:

  1. Business Insider – Huddle, once the hot competition to Box and Dropbox, has quietly confirmed a private equity buyout
Published inAnalysis