Y-combinator CEO Gary Tan once revealed how he once turned down a life-changing offer from a billionaire investor Peter Thiel – a decision that, by his own estimate, cost him around $200 million Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) stock.
The dinner with Peter Thiel that changed everything
Tan, now one of the most influential venture capitalists in the world, recalled in a 2019 video how the moment unfolded shortly after his graduation in 2003.
At the time he was a young engineer working at Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) when friends invited him to dinner with Thiel, who was then launching a new data analytics startup: Palantir.
Thiel, best known for his early $500,000 Facebook investments, urged Tan to quit his job immediately and join Palantir’s founding team.
See also: Elon Musk becomes first person worth $500 billion, Tesla CEO’s wealth is now bigger than Palantir, Alibaba
When Tan hesitated and said he was making $72,000 a year, Thiel pulled out his checkbook and offered to pay his salary personally.
“He said, ‘Cash this check and quit your job. This is a no-risk opportunity for you,'” Tan recalls. “I said, ‘Thank you very much, Mr. Thiel, but maybe next year I’ll be promoted to level 60.’ Big mistake.”
That decision, he said, ultimately cost him at least $200 million in equity.
How Tan’s missed opportunity became a career lesson
Although Tan eventually joined Palantir later as employee number ten – helping to build one of the key product teams – he missed out on the stock windfall early on.
“It still worked out,” he said, “but that’s a story you have to keep in mind when you think about where you want to work.”
He also revealed that he has a Googlingnow below Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), interview in 2004, in which he admitted that it was not clear at the time that the tech giant would make money.
“In 2019, it’s hard to believe that any company other than Google is going to make money,” he said.
Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends Newsletter to receive the latest technical developments in your inbox.
Palantir’s meteoric rise since then
Today, Palantir has a market cap of over $425 billion and continues to exceed expectations.
In the second quarter, the company reported revenue of $1.004 billion, up 48% year over year.
Analysts love Then Ives have dubbed it the “Messi of AI,” while predicting that Palantir could reach a $1 trillion valuation within three years.
According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock RankingsPalantir scores strongly on momentum and growth, which reflects positive price development in the short, medium and long term. Click here for a detailed look at the stock’s performance, along with comparisons with its peers and competitors.
See more of Benzinga’s Consumer Tech coverage at by following this link.
Read more:
Photo: Mark Reinstein on Shutterstock.com
Disclaimer: This content was produced in part using AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga’s editorial staff.
#CEO #Peter #Thiel #Years #FacePalm #Moment #Mistake #Cost #Million #Palantir #Stock #Alphabet #NASDAQGOOG #Alphabet #NASDAQGOOGL