After Selling the Company for $975 million, the Founder Said, "I am wealthy, but I don't know what to do."

Nitin Konde, Varun Bhardwaj

Jan 8, 2025 — 3 min read

Founder Reflects: "Wealthy After $975M Sale, But Unsure What’s Next"

Cofounder Vinay Hiremath of Loom, which Atlassian purchased for $975 million in 2023, wrote a blog post detailing his experiences and fears following the sale of his profitable firm. In a blog post titled “I Am Rich and I Have No Idea What to Do with My Life,” he recounted the different interests he examined after learning he no longer needed to work for money anymore. He detailed his experiences, including rejecting a $60 million job offer, quitting a relationship, and making futile attempts at robotics and government reform.

I'm in the completely unrelatable situation of never having to work again after selling my business. In a depressing manner, everything seems like a side mission. Despite having limitless freedom, I am unsure of how to use it. "This post isn't meant to garner sympathy or boast," he stated.

Recalling the Hard Times

Despite being offered a possible $60 million compensation as CTO, Hiremath struggled to stay with the acquiring business, as he disclosed in the blog post. "What is the point of money if it is not for freedom?" he said, rejecting it. The Loom cofounder went on a journey to the Himalayas with no prior expertise, but it ended abruptly when he became ill and needed to be rappelled down a mountain. His buddies encouraged him to join the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and work for Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk after he recovered. Hiremath was able to secure the job, but he left after only four weeks after deciding it wasn't a good fit.

"I therefore cancelled my plans to go to Washington, DC, and set out on a mission to save our country alongside some of the most intelligent people I've ever encountered after four demanding and intoxicating weeks." He added, "And I purchased a one-way ticket to Hawaii."

Hiremath concluded his blog post by stating that he is studying physics in the jungles of Hawaii. He intends to launch a business that produces tangible goods. He stated that he is content that his new business does not have to duplicate Loom's success.

About Vinay Hiremath

Born in 1991, Vinay Hiremath dropped out of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign after just two years. He relocated to Palo Alto, California, in order to pursue his love of startups. In 2018, Forbes listed him as one of the 30 under 30.

His first noteworthy job was as a software developer at Backplane, a well-funded Silicon Valley firm that focused on creating online communities. During their tenure at Backplane, Shahed Khan was introduced to Vinay Hiremath, with whom he subsequently co-founded Loom. Vinay Hiremath has also made investments in start-ups such as Enterpret Company.

He co-founded Loom with Joe Thomas and Shahed Khan in the early 2010s. Users of the video-sharing website Loom can produce and distribute short videos. Forbes claims that it currently serves over 14 million people and 2 lakh enterprises.

In its initial stages, Loom was mere weeks away from bankruptcy. Hiremath used all of his credit cards to keep the business solvent. As co-founder and former CTO of Loom, he grew the company from zero to 250 employees, helped raise $200 million in funding, and increased the number of users to over 30 million worldwide.