Renounce My Gumroad Investment
In 2021 I invested $350 in Gumroad. Recent actions by founder Sahil Lavingia, specifically his involvement in the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, where he contributed to efforts to downsize the Department of Veterans Affairs, conflict deeply with my values as a Veteran.
I am considering sending a Notice of Waiver and Voluntary Relinquishment to formally renounce my SAFE and disassociate myself from Gumroad, forfeiting any claim to future returns in exchange for being removed as an investor.
49 users voted with 6762 shares
As much as I dislike Sahil's support of Trump and Musk (who would have guessed) , I don't think your renunciation will have the effect you hope for.
You might want to look for a different way to register your protest.
By the way, Gumroad is really raking in money these days so I hope/expect you will get a great return on that investment when it matures.
What if you stay in and commit to donating half of the eventual return to an organization that supports Veterans?
This sounds like you're basically just giving away money to Sahil and other investors. I don't know how much impact you giving up your equity would do in terms of impact (will people know you did this? will it get coverage?), and you could instead just commit to investing [10%] into programs for veterans and have a bigger impact. If it's about feeling slimy from the association, I would think donating a nice chunk of change of this to a cause you like could outweigh that. You can also publicize the charity plans you have for your stake.
I like thomasjosephking's idea... I also have an investment in Gumroad, and hadn't followed any of this mess. Ugh, what a pain. I do know that at some point last year there was the ability to register interest in selling your stake back to him. Not sure what ever happened with that...
My investment is pretty small. At the time of the crowd fundraise I was between projects but wanted a small symbolic stake in the product I was using. I've definitely already given more to Veteran causes than I invested. (it was just $350) . There is also the quixotic adventure of trying to get rid of something that is legally non-transferrable that I find frustrating in this whole thing. But I appreciate the comments here. I get the sense that the shareholders who have voted so far would prefer I vent my anger and frustration in ways that don't involve losing money?
I agree with thomasjosephking. Unfortunately, with larger companies I don’t think you relinquishing your $350 investment will have any impact on the financial stability of Gumroad. However, I understand you don’t want your name attached to something you don’t agree with. Maybe think of it as in, you invested in the company with good intention based on the information available at the time. You’ve already associated yourself as an investor, you can’t put that genie back in the bottle. Keep the investment, continue to make others aware of their distasteful actions, use any proceeds to do good.
I vote YES. This is a time we will look back on and ask, "So what did you DO? What MATERIAL ACTION did you take to live your values?" I believe that even though this is mostly symbolic given the low dollar amount, IT IS MATERIAL and IT MATTERS. Stand up. Be counted. Tell these assholes that their behavior is reprehensible, and you will not accept being associated with them, damn the cost. Sorry to be the idealistic yeasayer but that's my take.
Shared on the Discord: a ProPublica article about how DOGE Developed Error-Prone AI Tool to “Munch” Veterans Affairs Contracts - https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-doge-veterans-affairs-ai-contracts-health-care
If I can make a further plea to the shareholders to change their vote, I am disgusted with Sahil's media tour, which he is clearly enjoying, and comes at the expense of veterans. He is having a great time getting attention as a DOGE boy talking about what he did, even as he is telling ProPublica "I'm sure mistakes were made." Ugh... the whole thing is even worse as he is basking in the media attention. 👎
If you renounce the shares you’re just opening up additional space on their cap table which will in effect be helping them get more investors. I’d much rather see you hold on to them, and then if they’re ever worth something use the proceeds to both help veterans and buy a f**k fascists billboard.
Fuck that dude. Keyboard bois need to stop saying “I was only kidding!” when their actions, clearly designed to devalue lives, take effect.
(That dude being Sahil, not anyone in this thread.)
Had no idea Sahil pulled this shit, so first off, thank you for the awareness and fuck him.
I'm in agreement with the other folks here that pulling out with no return doesn't actually net much of a positive outcome.
I'm similarly invested (only about $500, but still). They have annual opportunities to withdraw funds, pretty sure it's open to any investor. So if you were going to withdraw, that might be a more opportune time. Plus, as others have stated you can then donate those funds to a relevant supporting org for vets.
Don't let him have his cake and eat it too.
By renouncing the money you just make him stronger and make his balance sheet and P&L one small investment stronger. I'd encourage you to take your returns and fund someone who addresses the issues you care about.