> and they've probably been working on Adobe's roadmap / integration for the past 15 months.

$1B would be enough to cover that completely, but as a person who has been in companies that have been acquired. (multiple times), that's not really how it works.

I've never worked anywhere that started working on integrating or unifying roadmaps before the contracts were inked and the deal fully ratified.

> I've never worked anywhere that started working on integrating or unifying roadmaps before the contracts were inked and the deal fully ratified.

Because it's not really legal. I've been a similar situation previously, and we were specifically forbidden from working on any integration projects until the deal closed, as in the legal department gave a company-wide presentation on exactly what kind of work was and wasn't allowed (e.g. obviously execs/legal folks could work towards completing the merger, but working on actual engineering integration was expressly forbidden).

There is a "jump the gun" law that makes it illegal to start integrating before the acquisition fully closes.

They were not devastated or demotivated. The morale is still high from what I heard from the inside. 1B is 5% of the original deal. Without liquidating any equity, they can get 5% of the original payout, which is still large! (I think Dylan Field the CEO might do this, to make the team happy. I can imagine the outside investor being left out on this, since this is not a liquidation event, then even more “free” money for the team)

Also, they are not working on any Adobe roadmap. Other than a few offsite brainstorm session, no real work has been put into integrating with Adobe.

> nd they've probably been working on Adobe's roadmap / integration for the past 15 months.

That seems highly unlikely.

Oof, that’s a really good point. That would be utterly demotivating.

It would be illegal for them to be collaborating with Adobe in any way on roadmap before the deal closed.

Instead imagine that the workers actually did get that huge chunk of cash but still had to come into work every day.

But that's Adobe's problem instead of Figma's and the employees'.

Good point, and I agree, but nevertheless the product itself will probably suffer less in the current situation, and meanwhile Figma gets another bite at the apple down the road, and that might be a MUCH bigger bite and apple later.

What if some of the people behind this very effective and successful tool are there because they're enthusiastic about the work they're doing?

I'd bet cash money that there are at least some for whom the paycheck means they can do their thing and not have to take a day job. These are the sorts of people who create a Figma instead of an enshittification.

The trick is always to get paid something instead of having to get a day job. And I'm sure there are folks who 'have to come into work' and are still doing good and worthy jobs… but man! You figure they are all like that? At Figma, of all places?

Never work in the music business, is all I can say. Or filmmaking. There are entire industries that ride on the ability to wildly underpay talented people just so they can do the things they're excited about doing. Far from 'not promising a huge payout', you can absolutely screw large numbers of people if they get to hear the band play, or get to look through the viewfinder and see the rushes.