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DigiFest NYC 2015
Co-founder of Vine Rus Yusupov (L) speaks to internet personality Nash Grier during DigiFest NYC 2015.
Rob Kim—Getty Images for DigiTour Media

On Thursday, the Internet collectively mourned after Twitter announced it would shut down Vine, the smart phone app and website that allows users upload and watch six-second videos. But no one was as sad as Vine's cofounder, Rus Yusupov, who offered this advice to other startup founders.

Twitter, Vine's parent company, bought the app four years ago for a reported $30 million, and laid off Yusupov in 2015. Even though the app had a loyal following of more than 200 million active users, it wasn't enough to save the company or springboard Twitter from its well-documented slump.

It's not the first time a startup founder publicly admitted regret for selling a company they founded. In 2015, Dropcam founder Greg Duffy said he regretted the $555 million sale of his company to connected device maker Nest. Still, the hugeout payout must help ease the pain.