Jyoti Bansal, a 46-year-old Indian entrepreneur, made a life-altering decision when he sold his software startup AppDynamics to Cisco for $3.7 billion in 2017. The sale turned approximately 400 of his employees into millionaires overnight, with many earning $5 million or more from their shares in the company. Bansal, who had spent years as a software engineer before founding AppDynamics, was faced with a difficult choice when Cisco made the acquisition offer just days before the startup was set to go public.
He had to weigh the financial impact on his employees, the future of the company’s mission and culture, and his own personal goals. We had about 300 employees who made more than a million dollars,” Bansal said. “Dozens walked away with $5 million or more.”
Despite the financial windfall for his employees, Bansal struggled with the decision to sell.
He spent sleepless nights discussing the offer with the board, investors, and other stakeholders. “People think it must’ve been an easy decision, but it was the hardest,” he said. After the sale, Bansal found himself grappling with a sense of loss and aimlessness.
He had dedicated nine years of his life to building AppDynamics and felt the journey was incomplete.
Jyoti Bansal’s difficult sale decision
“It was bittersweet – it felt like we were closer to the finish line, but not quite there,” he reflected.
Bansal traveled the world in the months following the sale, checking off his bucket list. However, after six months, he realized that retirement was not for him. He founded another company, Harness, which also creates software tools for developers.
Ironically, Harness was valued at $3.7 billion in 2022 – the same price Cisco paid for AppDynamics. When asked if he would consider selling Harness for a similar offer, Bansal was confident in his answer. “We’d have to entertain it, but I know the answer is most likely no,” he said.
“At AppDynamics, it felt like we were closer to the finish line. At Harness, our journey is just starting.”
Bansal’s story serves as an example of the rewards and challenges that come with entrepreneurship. While the sale of AppDynamics changed the lives of his employees, it also marked a significant turning point in his own career and personal life.
