“To Build a Better Beta” (S03E07)

Pied Piper is a success, hitting 100,000 downloads in just 10 days, receiving significant media coverage and being hailed as the next unicorn of the tech world. During an interview for Bloomberg, Erlich almost lets slip that he no longer owns any Pied Piper shares. When Richard learns about this during an interview with a prospective head of PR he threatens Erlich with the release of a press statement to minimize the negative effect on the company, at the expense of Erlich’s reputation in the Valley, stating that he will sever all links with him and remove the team from his incubator. At Hooli, the board of directors inform Gavin Belson that they are discharging him from his position due to the failure of the investment Endframe, confirming at the same time that they are allowing the Pied Piper app to enter the Hooli App Store. When C.J. Cantwell contacts Erlich about a rumor spreading about Pied Piper, he decides to tell her all about his shares, taking the blame and saving Pied Piper from bad reputation. When Laurie tells Richard that by selling his shares, Erlich only managed to cover his debts without any profit, he understands that Erlich is broke, and offers him a position as Pied Piper’s head of PR.