Agreed. If you actually read the article instead of dismissing it based on its content, you'd find that Dave makes a great point. The Mint sale may not turn out to be great for Mint users, and it certainly wasn't amazing for (most) of their investors that were hoping for a home run -- but I know with certainty it was amazing for Aaron, personally.
Saying that the VCs forced Aaron to sell is an absolutely ludicrous statement.
Having now sold a company (albeit for nothing like the scale of Mint) the value of simply having the stripe is immeasurable.
People get confused between what the right thing is for a company's customers or the "ecosystem" and what the right thing is for the entrepreneur (even taking account of the other two).
As a Mint user I'm really sorry Mint sold to Intuit. I also think it is a bit of a waste for the ecosystem as Mint was positioned to do something pretty amazing that probably won't happen now.
However, the decision was very sensible indeed for the founder. Mint may never have sold, he could have been ousted as CEO. Now he's a great bet for future investors and employees and he is cash independent (both as an individual and an investor).
Knowing when to stick and when to twist is invaluable. I am interested though why the VC's cash him out $20M and keep in the game as Matt Mullenweg's did. That way he would have hedged his risk and everyone swings for the fences.
Saying that the VCs forced Aaron to sell is an absolutely ludicrous statement.