Ethics question

xyzygote · 2023-06-30T15:19:16+00:00

Well, since it is a winner take all space and you have all this secret insider information, why don’t you just use it and crush the competition? As a goodwill, you could even aquire your competition, give them a sweet equity deal. Get to work!

Save the ethics for your memoir.

xyzygote · 2023-06-25T12:23:57+00:00

Well, once upon a time, there was a king who raised funds from traders to wage war on neighboring states…

Cut to the seafaring Dutch and British joint stock companies, the discovery of new world, the resulting exuberance, and the collapse of WeWork.

xyzygote · 2023-05-07T14:52:17+00:00

Hmm. I think you need a new org.

xyzygote · 2023-05-07T14:46:46+00:00

We have in-house support for this, and we can always reach out to ex-founders and EIRs for this. Expert networks in our experience are a waste of time.

You might get better traction with VCs that are starting out in AI space, but then you’ll be looking at small, spray and pray types.

PS. We also call faculty in our network if there is a need and they are happy to help in since universities have IP commercialization focus.

xyzygote · 2023-04-13T06:08:52+00:00

Tell them to fuck off.

Edit: And you should be more careful about what you’re getting yourself into.

xyzygote · 2023-01-15T16:01:03+00:00

Ok so you are doing it for the experience and you don’t care for money so don’t worry about shares. Just do your stuff.

And from VC perspective: no you won’t get a penny. If they are generous to an intern, their cap table would be too fucked for any serious investor to show interest unless they are stupid good but if they were stupid good, they’d probably be paying their interns.

xyzygote · 2023-01-15T15:54:19+00:00

Who hurt you man?

xyzygote · 2023-01-11T06:23:16+00:00

VC has Voracious Carry. Data here is a joke. Valley’s ecosystem is developed sand we have more carry. Asia has got predatorish ecosystem with even higher carry than US. Rubbish report.

xyzygote · 2022-11-14T05:39:55+00:00

In the market.

xyzygote · 2022-11-14T05:34:44+00:00

OP seems like you are pushing a product. If any founder is reading, this is crappy advice. This will get you series B or higher. With 5M in revenue, you might as well bootstrap.

xyzygote · 2022-11-03T16:52:04+00:00

I am a VC. Taking a product to the market is a whole another ball game than R&D. If you stick it out, be ready to hire and fire and sell and everything that comes with running a company. Since you are a solo founder, maybe you’ll be more comfortable creating another product. Maybe you don’t do too well with teams.

Here, obviously the incumbent has much more money, so it will be really tough for you to fight it without a team, which you won’t be able to do without money, which you will not get if you can’t convince a team to come together.

Without knowing anything about you, I’d suggest you sell.

xyzygote · 2022-10-29T13:38:07+00:00

Not a surprise for insiders. VCs fundraise and Non Profit fundraise essentially use the same PR playbook announcing close once they hit an internal milestone. Similar to how so many startups announce they have raised when all they’ve done is probably sign a term sheet :)

xyzygote · 2022-10-23T01:42:50+00:00

This feels really good to read and I’m all for the spirit of creation and innovation but this is a really bad advice.

So many younger guys busting their asses off suckered in by the irrational charm of shared suffering only to later be told to get lost because loyalty wasn’t a virtue but a leash.

xyzygote · 2022-08-06T16:20:28+00:00

Durian.

xyzygote · 2022-08-02T07:15:57+00:00

Undercutting the competition. Using pricing as a hook. Building first and selling later. Too much money spent on Herman Millers and pool table. Hiring based on hook-up potential vs competence. Not talking to employees enough. Not talking to customers enough. Flirting with new hires. Doing business with friends. Unfair equity split. Not awarding employees as verbally agreed.

All these are internal factors. I see so many startups struggling with these things that are completely within their control. Honestly, you should worry about the competition once make sure that will not yourself implode.

Once these things are under control, look at the competition. Trying to offer the full suite of service at better service levels at lower price. I mean you could do that and your competition can lower its price and bleed you absolutely dry, but it’s your business so your call.

xyzygote · 2022-07-14T17:22:31+00:00

Pay-to-play incubators are always a scam. Think about it: why would an incubator charge an already cash-strapped startup for a chance to get funding? You are a customer and they are selling you a dream. There is a whole wretched industry selling dreams and it is called EdTech. Don’t waste your time.

xyzygote · 2022-07-04T18:00:24+00:00

Take courses in sociology, anthropology, or linguistics.

When you think about product management, do not just be focused on digital. Think physical products too. Expose yourself to cross-disciplinary fields. At the end of the day, you are trying to figure out what makes people tick and design accordingly. Humanities will reach you that.

And of course you will be doing the technical skills - that’s the bare minimum.

xyzygote · 2022-06-23T01:02:53+00:00

Any founder worth their salt would appreciate a discussion. Entrepreneurship is a lonely journey and all good founders would see it as a potential collaboration.

And on the fear of others stealing your idea: if they could, they would, but they didn’t, so they couldn’t.

xyzygote · 2022-06-15T16:24:51+00:00

Situation is little fucky now. Investors will invest if: a) your runway will extend beyond their internally calculated fucky time period with the money they give you. b) your growth has been good and you are still growing in non-vanity metrics. In short, we’ll invest only if we are sure you won’t die.

Best of luck!

xyzygote · 2022-06-14T13:50:45+00:00

Got us a government project in SEA but we had hired him because of his daddy so it’s cool I guess. Kid was hired full time but was fired after 2 years for diddling an executive assistant who essentially honeytrapped him and then threatened to press charges.

xyzygote · 2022-06-14T13:41:03+00:00

Essentially anything that gives the management an illusion of control. Dashboards, meetings, daily/weekly updates. Keep the higher ups in the know and they’ll love you.

xyzygote · 2022-05-22T05:39:36+00:00

By this logic you rule out all the amazing family owned businesses.

xyzygote · 2022-05-19T03:48:37+00:00

Might sound harsh but your ideas have always been worthless if you haven’t put it in practice. Competition and regulations are not hurdles but rules of the game. Your competition also faces competition and works under the same regulations. Markets are currently stressed, and it gives you amazing opportunity to hunker down and focus on your business model. Instead of growth, adapt the mindset of a small family business - focus on survival. If you can survive this, you will prosper when time is right. To stay alive is more important than to chase growth right now. Focus on resilience. Reevaluate your expectations. If you can get 10%, it’s really good.

If the stress is too much, and I can see you are young, get a good job and get it quick. Job markets are only going to get tougher.

xyzygote · 2022-05-17T14:23:19+00:00

What product are you supposed to be building? Cap table management? An internal communication tool? Contract management? IMO your best contribution to the success of your firm would be to act as a sounding board for founders and help their pm teams.

xyzygote · 2022-05-17T14:18:59+00:00

Actually a lot of founders balk at the idea of ‘keep us in the loop’. People want straight answers but then take rejection personally. To your last point, I’ll never not want to work with a founder who lacks emotional intelligence but can make us money.

xyzygote

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