I was viewed as a spender because I was vocal about investing in what we needed to succeed, which Wall Street didn't like.

I was forced out as CEO after a period of rapid growth, which was influenced by market changes and compliance issues that made investors nervous. David, the CEO, focused on attacking me for six months, which ultimately drove the company into the ground.

Since turning down the offer, I've faced much harder decisions that required betting on the company's direction or investing billions, where the outcomes weren't clear for many years.

We had to do things differently to compete against incumbents like JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.

By the end of my tenure, the stock price staying flat was frustrating, especially after tripling the business in a decade.

I raised 1.6 million and obsessively built the company for three years, achieving 8.4X growth in one year, which led to a position where I didn't need the money when I went to raise again.

When I became CEO, the dotcom bubble was bursting, antitrust issues dominated the company's culture, and we faced a significant accounting headache that affected profitability.

I made the mistake of comparing my startup to competitors who had already raised money, which led to unrealistic expectations about my own fundraising efforts.

David's approach to media was aggressive; he believed in attacking competitors relentlessly, which turned against me after he took over as CEO.