On Monday, May 15, shareholders in online recruitment start-up 1-Page assembled in Sydney to have the final say in a six-month long feud that has fractured the company, and become a case-in-point example of the risks of going public as an early stage business.

With the votes counted, co-founder Joanna Riley was unceremoniously booted from the board, while the remaining board members led by Merchant Funds Management's Andrew Chapman and chairman John Fennelly won the right to shut down the company and turn it into a shell.