james
988 posts
The Manus situation is bigger than one deal. It signals a chilling message for founders - especially Chinese entrepreneurs (still in China): Some “wise men” commented on this deal and said “Choose your destiny on Day 1 — and never change your mind.” What they meant is - if you choose to start your company in China, then stick to it. If you’ve decided to go overseas, start a foreign company from day 1. That sounds reasonable. But it is fundamentally incompatible with how startups actually work. Startups pivot. Markets change. Regulations evolve. Founders adapt. Telling entrepreneurs they must decide at incorporation exactly where the company will end up — and then punishing them for changing strategy later — is absurd. That’s like saying: “If you date someone, you must know from Day 1 whether you’ll marry them. Otherwise don’t date at all.” Yes, Manus took local support, laid off the original team, and restarted elsewhere, people can debate whether that was ethical. But ethics and legality are not the same thing. If founders are no longer allowed to restructure, relocate, pivot, or rebuild without political consequences, then the message is clear: You don’t truly own what you build. That is bad for entrepreneurship. Bad for innovation. Bad for long-term trust in the startup ecosystem. The game has changed — and founders everywhere should pay attention.
