This is very damaging for other startups. You create something, then you ask people to believe you and invest their time and sometimes money with you.
Then you, in act of desperation, sell out and sell your users...
The issue is, people are already super skeptical when these startups start asking for things, this just makes them even harder to get users to trust you as a emerging company or product with data and usage.
Startups don't have big reputations to protect unless they're tied to someone famous, and also they need a path towards acquisition for early investors to care. There isn't really a way around that.
Then you, in act of desperation, sell out and sell your users...
The issue is, people are already super skeptical when these startups start asking for things, this just makes them even harder to get users to trust you as a emerging company or product with data and usage.