How the Inventors of Dragon Speech Recognition Technology Lost Everything 606
First time accepted submitter cjsm writes "James and Janet Baker were the inventors of Dragon Systems' speech recognition software, and after years of work, they created a multimillion dollar company. At the height of the tech boom, with investment offers rolling in, they turned to Goldman Sachs for financial advice. For a five million dollar fee, Goldman hooked them up with Lernout & Hauspie, the Belgium speech recognition company. After consultations with Goldman Sachs, the Bakers traded their company for $580 million in Lernout & Hauspie stock. But it turned out Lernout & Hauspie was involved in cooking their books and went bankrupt. Dragon was sold in a bankruptcy auction to Scansoft, and the Bakers lost everything. Goldman and Sachs itself had decided against investing in Lernout & Hauspie two years previous to this because they were lying about their Asian sales. The Bakers are suing for one billion dollars."
Ironic (Score:5, Funny)
I thought Goldman Sachs were the good guys?
One! (Score:5, Funny)
They are the good guys (Score:2, Funny)
Crooks (Score:2, Funny)
Imagine that, Goldman Sachs involved in swindling people.
Will wonders never cease.
Re:Ironic (Score:5, Funny)
Since when has Wall Street (Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, AIG, et al) done anything other than for themselves?
They take the little guys money and bend them over (without a tube of Vaseline).
Re:Why civil? (Score:5, Funny)
If corporations are people, then they're responsible for the relationships between the different thoughts in their heads.
Couldn't they claim diminished responsibility due to multiple personality disorder?
Wellllllll (Score:4, Funny)
"After consultations with Goldman Sachs,..."
That's your problem right there.
Re:Ironic (Score:3, Funny)
but but but ... Goldman's CEO Blankfein said they're doing God's work in there, they MUST be good guys!
... for some definitions of 'God' and 'good guys', anyway
Re:Why civil? (Score:4, Funny)
Isn't the burden of having all that money and the guilt over how it was acquired really punishment enough?
Re:Why civil? (Score:5, Funny)
For example, a bank should not be allowed to combine with another bank. Mergers should only take place between different types of financial institutions as God intended.
Re:Two lessons here (Score:5, Funny)
If you're a first time entrepreneur ... you're gonna get raped.
By someone named Gold Man-Sacs no less!
Let's see, names for our new "financial business":
so what exactly is 'stealing', im sorry (Score:4, Funny)
im a little confused as to what you would actually consider 'stealing'.
my favorite definition is from Jennifer Aniston's character in Office Space.
you take something thats not yours. and then it becomes yours.
Re:They are the good guys (Score:5, Funny)
"We guided them to a completed transaction."
As the lion said of the zebra.
Re:Two lessons here (Score:4, Funny)
You forgot my favorite:
Takeda, Monet, and Runne
Re:there is no wall at goldman sachs (Score:5, Funny)
Re:there is no wall at goldman sachs (Score:5, Funny)
Re:What I wondered is.. (Score:4, Funny)
Who owns Scansoft, who apart from GS are the other big winners from this transaction? They got the world's best speech rec software for a fraction of its true value - I wonder who they were advised by?
A mysterious company called Soldman Gachs, who have since gone out of business after a fire that destroyed all of their files.
Re:there is no wall at goldman sachs (Score:5, Funny)
More like Hanky-Paulsy
No bailout for the Bakers', I guess.