How not to approach an investor(ricksegal.typepad.com)

61 pointsby RyanGWU8218 tahun yang lalu18 comments

ricksegal.typepad.com

http://ricksegal.typepad.com/pmv/2008/06/a-different-approach-to-getting-my-attention.html

11 comments

raganwald18 tahun yang lalu

Speaking for myself, I don't really think the story is about a bad pitch. Business is business, you sell your company any way you like, and people buy or they don't buy. We may laugh at the false bravado, but we are probably laughing at the hard-sell penny stock promoters while they are making millions.

Any way, I think this story is really about how to burn a referral source. IMO, if you are approaching a VC directly, you use any pitch you want and I say good for you. But if I refer you to a VC, I want you to think very hard about what your pitch says about ME before you make it.

I think that is a very serious matter, and that is the issue I have with the anonymized founders in the story. They clearly did not consider what their referral source would have to say about being associated with their pitch.

motoko18 tahun yang lalu

Businesses that make $180MM profit in 9 months from a $10MM investment:

- Terrorism

- Ransoming the children of a business tycoon

- A web 2.0 youtube-like social network mashup

DocSavage18 tahun yang lalu

He wrote $200MM in revenue in 9 months with "minor" loss of $10MM. Imagine his demands if he really projected $180MM in profits! :)

motoko18 tahun yang lalu

Ah, you're right. I was just so excited by the tight investment deadline that I had no time for silly differences like between "expenses" and "losses." And I thought I was being conservative by doubling expenses, too.

raganwald18 tahun yang lalu

Rick is a class act, and just technical enogh to be dangerous... especially to founders who sling buzzwords without the least idea what they are really saying.

I couldn't resist posting one his best:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=223021

electric18 tahun yang lalu

Just technical enough...?

Brings to mind the oft-quoted "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing".

huhtenberg18 tahun yang lalu

This is known as a "Fax Attack" method of negotiating a car purchase. Who would've thought it wouldn't work for securing company funding. Duh :)

(edit) Here's an example - http://www.fool.com/car/car12.htm

[deleted]18 tahun yang lalu

pxlpshr18 tahun yang lalu

That's hilarious. Terribly played, grossly over-confident and naive expectations. It reminds me of the bad contestants on American Inventor, the tv series.

/scratches head with an eye closed

izaidi18 tahun yang lalu

Maybe the pitch was from the inventor of Bulletball. The guy does have the same first name.

tstegart18 tahun yang lalu

It comes off as more a scam than a real request for funding. "How do you know the tooth fairy isn't some crazy glue-sniffer. 'Buildin' model air planes,' he tells them. Well I'm not buying it. He sneaks into your house once, thats all it takes. Next thing you know you got money missing off your dresser drawer and your daughter's knocked up."

vaksel18 tahun yang lalu

I wouldn't mind knowing what type of funding this guy was looking for. The hilarity factor would be multiplied if this was for a seed stage company

comatose_kid18 tahun yang lalu

It would be even funnier if it were for a later stage of funding, because it would imply that these 'used car lot' methods had worked for the earlier rounds.

danteembermage18 tahun yang lalu

Isn't this an exploding term sheet only reverse the typical?

markbao18 tahun yang lalu

"Be careful out there!"

edw51918 tahun yang lalu

wtf - that's even better than Michael Corleone's startup...

Senator...you can have my answer now if you'd like. My offer is this. Nothing...not even the thousand dollars for the Gaming Commission, which I'd appreciate if you would put up personally.

- Godfather Part II

markm18 tahun yang lalu

It takes a certain level of courage to ask someone for money. And whoever this is put on a false sense of bravado and yes he got burned. But it should also take some self restraint to not post this crap on your blog, especially if you're a VC.

akd18 tahun yang lalu

This is more than a bad pitch. It would be low class to ridicule people with bad ideas, but people with ridiculous attitudes should be mocked.

markm18 tahun yang lalu

I still say it's a low class move to laugh at this guys expense.