Startup Founder Sells Prized Ferrari After Having to Shut Down $100 Million Company

Secret had raised a total of $35 million at a $100 million valuation throughout 2014. Their last Series B funding round last July brought $25 million from several early stage venture capital firms, Y Combinator partner Garry Tan and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.

Part of that deal also included Secret co-founders David Byttow and Chrys Bader-Wechseler pocketing $3 million each by exchanging stock in the company, money which Byttow used to purchase a “prized” Ferrari for over $200,000.

With the closing of his company, Byttow saw fit to sell the car. According to a profile in The New York Times, “Mr. Byttow’s once-prized red Ferrari is also gone, a person with knowledge of the matter said.”

Byttow was a long-time fan of Ferraris and other sports cars, according to his past posts on Pinterest. Byttow hasn’t revealed the exact Ferrari model he owned.

“Had this for about three years. Served me well,” Byttow said of a Porsche he owned before.

While Byttow and his co-founder have promised to return the remaining money to investors, it’s not yet clear whether that also includes the $6 million taken off the table.

As painful as it might have been, letting go of that Ferrari was a sacrifice any prudent startup founder would have made.