Scammed By A Silicon Valley Startup • Hacker News Board

Re: Scammed By A Silicon Valley Startup

#521

Post by kelukelugames » Wed, Aug 31, 2016, 2:30 AM UTC

xenophon wrote: post #460

kelukelugames wrote: post #433

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you too. Speaking up is a privilege. Hard to do with a mortgage and a family. That's why when I worked at Redfin, employees rather leave instead of complain. Retaliation is real.

An aside that seems relevant to a general discussion of "name vs not name": I've noticed that you (or a set of users that share your very unique username, perhaps) spend a ton of time attacking Redfin on various social media accounts (HN, Reddit, Facebook). I used to work there, too, and it's strange that you consistently describe the company in a negative way that is unfamiliar at best and completely unwarranted to…

Look at how cute I am in my Redfin cat shirt! I'm really bad at this staying anonymous thing. :)

https://twitter.com/kelukelugames/status/568851441068027904

Re: Scammed By A Silicon Valley Startup

#522

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Aug 31, 2016, 2:38 AM UTC

dang wrote: post #518

kelukelugames wrote: post #248

here you go. choiwisely 8 hours ago [-] > Employees and investors absolutely need the right to know about the people doing this "Michael" the CEO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isaacchae1981 "Charlie" the CTO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albrown "Jessica" the CMO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tess-stevens-28bb9138 Company: http://www.wrkriot.com/ + https://www.linkedin.com/company/7587861

This crosses into personal attack and you can't do that here. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12395442 for a fuller explanation, and please don't do this again. We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12381499 and marked it off-topic.

[deleted]

Re: Scammed By A Silicon Valley Startup

#523

Post by bArray » Wed, Aug 31, 2016, 2:43 AM UTC

readitmeow wrote: post #413

mugenjin9 wrote: post #410

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently, the company posted on their facebook that they are taking legal action against OP as: "a disgruntled former employee who has launched a slanderous campaign against WrkRiot and some of its employees via social media". https://www.facebook.com/WrkRiot/

They just took down the facebook page edit: its back up

Now the page is down again. (NOTE: I wanted to see if they had posted anything else in their defence in interest of hearing both sides to the story.)

Ignoring whether they were in the right or wrong, they're certainly not handling this very well as a company. If they now re-brand themselves again that would not be a great move if they maintain any link to their former selves. As a start-up I'm sure getting investor finance after a media fiasco like this may be particularly difficult, regardless of a name change.

Re: Scammed By A Silicon Valley Startup

#524

Post by kelukelugames » Wed, Aug 31, 2016, 2:48 AM UTC

dang wrote: post #518

kelukelugames wrote: post #248

here you go. choiwisely 8 hours ago [-] > Employees and investors absolutely need the right to know about the people doing this "Michael" the CEO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isaacchae1981 "Charlie" the CTO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albrown "Jessica" the CMO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tess-stevens-28bb9138 Company: http://www.wrkriot.com/ + https://www.linkedin.com/company/7587861

This crosses into personal attack and you can't do that here. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12395442 for a fuller explanation, and please don't do this again. We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12381499 and marked it off-topic.

Guess the cavalry didn't show up this time.

So are names of the company okay? I feel that's just as witch hunty.

Re: Scammed By A Silicon Valley Startup

#525

Post by dang » Wed, Aug 31, 2016, 2:56 AM UTC

kelukelugames wrote: post #524

dang wrote: post #518

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This crosses into personal attack and you can't do that here. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12395442 for a fuller explanation, and please don't do this again. We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12381499 and marked it off-topic.

Guess the cavalry didn't show up this time. So are names of the company okay? I feel that's just as witch hunty.

I don't know. It doesn't feel as bad to me, but I suppose you could make a case that it is.

The witch hunt dynamic is really a problem and when it gets going—which unfortunately it did in this case—intervention is required.

Re: Scammed By A Silicon Valley Startup

#526

Post by sanderjd » Wed, Aug 31, 2016, 2:57 AM UTC

bendbro wrote: post #469

sanderjd wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Odd, I've never come across a rant like that. But I do seem to see self satisfied "millennial" bashing pretty often. (I don't think I'll ever understand this impulse to ascribe vague personality traits to broad groups of people across a large number of birth years.)

I'd imagine it has something to do with having eyes, ears and a brain

I'm sorry, what? I think you're probably trying to say I'm wrong in some offensive way, but I have no idea what you're talking about.

Re: Scammed By A Silicon Valley Startup

#527

Post by kelukelugames » Wed, Aug 31, 2016, 3:05 AM UTC

dang wrote: post #525

kelukelugames wrote: post #524

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Guess the cavalry didn't show up this time. So are names of the company okay? I feel that's just as witch hunty.

I don't know. It doesn't feel as bad to me, but I suppose you could make a case that it is. The witch hunt dynamic is really a problem and when it gets going—which unfortunately it did in this case—intervention is required.

It takes an extra click to figure out who the execs are if only the company name is released. The drop off is probably an order of magnitude. Guess that makes sense.

Re: Scammed By A Silicon Valley Startup

#528

Post by dboreham » Wed, Aug 31, 2016, 4:01 AM UTC

jomamaxx wrote: post #450

dragonwriter wrote: post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> When a company has just started, they may have not set this up. The correct (and only non-criminal) order of operations is (1) figure this out, (2) start hiring employees. If you can't calculate withholdings and all those other things that get listed on a paystub correctly (which is the only thing that would stop you from generating a paystub), you are breaking the law (civilly and perhaps criminally under federal…

"When a company has just started, they may have not set this up. The correct (and only non-criminal) order of operations is (1) figure this out, (2) start hiring employees." This is false. For any of you interested - here is the actual law in California: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_independentcontractor.htm It's perfectly normal and very common to submit invoices for services rendered that you claim on your 1099.…

Perhaps you should read (all the way to the end) the law you cited?

Your posts in this thread are the most egregiously wrong I have seen on HN in recent times.

Re: Scammed By A Silicon Valley Startup

#529

Post by rhizome » Wed, Aug 31, 2016, 4:12 AM UTC

dragonwriter wrote: post #396

foxylad wrote: post #80

> The names have been changed to protect the innocent and guilty. Assuming the writer is as scrupulously honest as they seem to be, how legally exposed would they be in actually naming names? And assuming they are exposed, are astute commenters who use clues from the article to reveal the company also liable? It seems to me that it would be a HUGE public good to name the names. Employees and investors absolutely need…

> Assuming the writer is as scrupulously honest as they seem to be, how legally exposed would they be in actually naming names? Anyone involved who wanted to claim that the negative portrayals (of which there are plenty) were false and caused economic harm -- both individuals and the company as a company -- could file libel claims for the damages caused. Even if no liability was actually found in the end, the cost of…

They would have to specify which statements are libelous.

Re: Scammed By A Silicon Valley Startup

#530

Post by dboreham » Wed, Aug 31, 2016, 4:14 AM UTC

ChristopherE wrote: post #464

intothemild wrote: post #451

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reality is that they have opened themselves up to a case that can be brought to the DA and the DA can pursue charges against the salary fraud. If I was an American, I would be doing this regardless.... This facebook post of theirs just did two things 1.) Confirm its them. 2.) Lose them the ability to settle this quietly. They could have quietly sat down with Penny and sort this out, but they didn't... that ship has s…

That there was apparently not NDA required on her exit more than anything just how amateur this Choi is. All he had to do was give her an extra grand specifically as compared consideration for an NDA and nothing but the government complaints would be said. Obviously you can't prohibit the reporting of a crime but she already did that anyway. Which makes me wonder, why isn't she under an NDA already? Every one I've si…

Perhaps because said NDA wouldn't stand up in the event that they didn't pay? (especially since the disclosures related to said lack of payment). She wasn't disclosing their secret sauce recipe.