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A £25m bicycle "the biggest mistake I ever made"

One man swapped shares in his tech startup for a bicycle. The company just sold to Microsoft for £174m

While some among us may have made expensive purchases and splurged on bikes unwisely, one man’s bike cost him rather more than he first expected.

In 2008 Chris Hill-Scott, a 29-year-old civil servant, swapped his shares in his tech start up for a bicycle, after becoming tired of the long hours and low pay.

The company, SwiftKey, was just sold to Microsoft for £174 million, making those shares worth an estimated £25m.

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He and two friends, Jon Reynolds and Ben Medlock, set up SwiftKey in August 2008, but two months later, Hill-Scott resigned and took a bicycle as payment for the shares.

According to the Independent Hill-Scott tweeted on Tuesday that the decision to sell was “the biggest mistake I ever made” before setting his Twitter account to private.

SwiftKey is a predictive text service that learns a user’s writing patterns to better predict which words they will next use. Stephen Hawking uses the technology to speed up his computer-generated voice, and the software has now been installed on more than 300 million tablets across the world.

The Independent says Hill-Scott at least parted from the company on good terms with his friends.

What is the biggest thing you've sacrificed for a bike? The most unwise purchase? Share all below.

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7 comments

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Bob's Bikes | 8 years ago
0 likes

Does he wear a helmet when riding????????

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gthornton101 | 8 years ago
0 likes

has it got disc brakes?????

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Jez Ash | 8 years ago
3 likes

Come on, then, what bike was it?

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Zermattjohn replied to Jez Ash | 8 years ago
1 like
Jez Ash wrote:

Come on, then, what bike was it?

+1 . I'm reserving judgement until I know the facts!

Avatar
ridein | 8 years ago
4 likes

Would'a, Could'a, Should'a
The shares weren't worth £25m at the time, so why even spend any time on it.
You can't regret your past actions if you did your best at the time. 

Avatar
Colin Peyresourde | 8 years ago
3 likes

No point in 'might have beens'. If he had stayed a share holder and involved in the business then the outlook might have been different for everyone involved.

on the plus side he has some rich friends. 

Avatar
othello | 8 years ago
0 likes

I know Chris and he is a lovely guy 

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