Recently, the arbitration dispute between Jinshajiang Venture Capital and Dark Side of the Moon has continued to ferment, with founders and relevant people from both parties launching fierce responses on social media. Zhu Xiaohu, managing partner of Jinshajiang Venture Capital, publicly criticized former managing partner Zhang Yutong, which attracted widespread attention. Yang Zhilin, the founder of Dark Side of the Moon, responded to the matter and tried to clarify the facts and safeguard his own and the company's rights. This article will analyze Yang Zhilin’s public statement, interpret the content of his response, and explore the possible subsequent development of the incident.
Recently, Zhu Xiaohu, the managing partner of Jinshajiang Venture Capital, has repeatedly posted on social platforms in response to the Dark Side of the Moon arbitration case, and "bombarded" Zhang Yutong, the former managing partner of Jinshajiang Venture Capital. In response to this matter, Dark Side of the Moon founder and CEO Yang Zhilin issued a statement through social media last night, responding to questions about his departure from the company to start a new business and Zhang Yutong’s shares in Dark Side of the Moon.
Yang Zhilin made it clear that when he left Circular Technology to start a new business, all necessary procedures had been signed and approved by every director. He emphasized that the decision-making between himself and his former company and some shareholders was independent and did not receive any interference.
Regarding Zhang Yutong’s employment and shares in Dark Side of the Moon, Yang Zhilin made his first public response. He revealed that he had invited Zhang Yutong to join as the co-founder of Dark Side of the Moon, and said that the shares obtained by Zhang Yutong were cashed based on years of service and performance. The condition for the cashing of the shares was that he continued to work in the company and obtained performance.
Yang Zhilin further pointed out that the essence of the shares granted by Dark Side of the Moon to Zhang Yutong is as consideration for the co-founders’ continued contributions to the company for many years to come. This decision is independent of his decision to leave Loop Company and start a new business, and it has nothing to do with the decision of some shareholders not to invest in Dark Side of the Moon.
This response not only clarified the controversy regarding Zhang Yutong’s shares in Dark Side of the Moon, but also expressed his insistence on the independence and transparency of the founder’s decision-making. With the further development of the arbitration case, the relationship between Yang Zhilin and Zhang Yutong and the equity structure of Dark Side of the Moon may continue to become the focus of public opinion.
Yang Zhilin's statement attempted to clarify the key facts of the incident, but the truth of the incident still needs to wait for the arbitration results to be finalized. This dispute also reminds us that startups need to be more cautious in equity allocation and teamwork to avoid similar disputes.