Matthijs
07-20-2008, 06:43 PM
Original article: http://cn.reuters.com/article/companyNewsEng/idCNN3041812720080720
Some stuff I really did not know about idealab.
In its heyday, Idealab was planning an initial public offering, had 5,000 employees and locations in Boston, San Francisco, Pasadena and London. That is down to between 500 and 1,000 employees and one office now.
In that period, he also faced accusations -- since dismissed or settled -- by some of Idealab's shareholders that he used company assets to finance a lavish lifestyle.
Two years ago, Gross was spared financial ruin again when Idealab shareholders agreed to pay off a $50 million personal loan he owed to a bank.
Idealab is also behind Aptera Motors, the maker of a three-wheeled, space-age-looking car that Gross first imagined while he was sitting in traffic in Pasadena.
"I was stopped at a light thinking 'What a shame, I'm carrying all this metal along with me."' He went home and started calculations for Aptera's first car, to be unveiled later this year with promised gasoline consumption of 300 miles per gallon.
Some stuff I really did not know about idealab.
In its heyday, Idealab was planning an initial public offering, had 5,000 employees and locations in Boston, San Francisco, Pasadena and London. That is down to between 500 and 1,000 employees and one office now.
In that period, he also faced accusations -- since dismissed or settled -- by some of Idealab's shareholders that he used company assets to finance a lavish lifestyle.
Two years ago, Gross was spared financial ruin again when Idealab shareholders agreed to pay off a $50 million personal loan he owed to a bank.
Idealab is also behind Aptera Motors, the maker of a three-wheeled, space-age-looking car that Gross first imagined while he was sitting in traffic in Pasadena.
"I was stopped at a light thinking 'What a shame, I'm carrying all this metal along with me."' He went home and started calculations for Aptera's first car, to be unveiled later this year with promised gasoline consumption of 300 miles per gallon.