Earlier quoted context omitted.
My response which I posted: Hey Danny. I apologize that you feel like I'm twisting the truth. It was the last week in January until the end of last Month. While we were there 3 months of the year, you are correct 2 months would be more accurate, I was just getting the $100k off of the Bootup website, I understood that we got $150k, but that $50k went back to Bootup, is that not what the original terms were? You did p…
>I didn't suggest that Bootup was closing down or was out of money. The title of this posting is "Moved to Canada to participate in a startup incubator that had no money"...
Booted out of Bootup Labs
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Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#32everything happens for a reason, I am sure you will create something create after this.
Not sure why this was downvoted. It's a little negative, but I do agree from this experience and you blogging about Jamie something better will come along! Good luck and is the weather in Phoenix still "100 and above it's a scorcher out there" :) ? You emailed me this summer re: my start-up. Good luck!
The alarm clock thing, right? :)
Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#33When I saw this title, my immediate thought was "hmm, I wonder if this is about Bootup Labs?" I've met the people behind Bootup Labs, and I like them. They're smart. They're enthusiastic about what they're doing. But I was never really convinced that they were able to make things work financially. I've seen enough startups that I can usually tell when a startup is running on fumes and spending all their energy on try…
I second this, Vancouver is really sorry and we hope you will come back and visit.
What I learned from this blog post is that I need to visit Vancouver someday.
Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
My response which I posted: Hey Danny. I apologize that you feel like I'm twisting the truth. It was the last week in January until the end of last Month. While we were there 3 months of the year, you are correct 2 months would be more accurate, I was just getting the $100k off of the Bootup website, I understood that we got $150k, but that $50k went back to Bootup, is that not what the original terms were? You did p…
>I didn't suggest that Bootup was closing down or was out of money. The title of this posting is "Moved to Canada to participate in a startup incubator that had no money"...
And this is why you don't embellish titles. Even when retitling your own original post.
Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#35How hard is it to set up a Vancouver startup independently, if you have 2-3 US citizens who want to relocate? Assume you have $100-200k of your own funding.
Gaming the tax credits seems like it takes a bit of effort, but lowers the effective tax rate substantially below even Nevada.
Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
What sort of program offers $100k to that many groups and doesn't follow through? Not to be facetious, but: A program which doesn't have as much money as they're offering people. The founders of Bootup Labs put some of their own money in, but they're raising money (or trying, at least) from VCs for the rest. They're paying themselves [EDIT: or not -- see reply from dannyrobinson below] from the $50k/startup managemen…
As a manager of Bootup, I can assure you that we haven't been personally paid anything. The $50k is funnelled through the company to maximize canadian tax credits, which can amount to a meaningful amount of money. And it's used to pay for rent, legal, accounting, and other services that are for the benefit of the startup.
You shouldn't have accepted companies that you couldn't afford to pay. You shouldn't have asked them to move to a different country. Very reckless and irresponsible and to then attack the poster as "twisting the truth" about tiny details seems even worse to me. You should be sorry. You should show some humility.
Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#37Danny, one of the bootuplabs founders just posted this comment on the post. ///////////// This is not how it went down Jamie. After everything that we did for you and Steven, I'm shocked at how you have twisted the truth for PR reasons. - you were in our office for 2 months, not 3. - you program is 5%-15% for $150k over 8 months - you received $6k over that 2 months - we received nothing in return. - we paid your leg…
Wow, they're really clutching at straws. The legal fees were presumably spent setting up a Canadian corporation. What use is that to the founders now? Similarly, the rent being paid - the cost of throwing all your stuff out (and presumably having to buy it again later) will be for most people way higher than a few months worth of rent. It's often too easy to jump to the wrong conclusion... but I'm struggling to see a…
Correct me if I am reading too much into their response. But it sounds like they were at the tail end of closing a round of financing. The investors didn't like some of the startups in the current cohort so they made it a requirement that Bootup cut them from the program before the new round closed.
So instead of honoring their word they choose to take the money. Very poor business practice IMO.
Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#38Bootup Labs has posted their side of the story on their blog:
http://blog.bootuplabs.com/2010/04/14/wertz-joins-board-firs...
Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#39everything happens for a reason, I am sure you will create something create after this.
Not sure why this was downvoted. It's a little negative, but I do agree from this experience and you blogging about Jamie something better will come along! Good luck and is the weather in Phoenix still "100 and above it's a scorcher out there" :) ? You emailed me this summer re: my start-up. Good luck!
I downvoted it, because I see it as a stupid comment for situations where something (partly) out of your control happens and you lose. "It's going to be ok" from a friend is nice then, but a comment that "Everything happens for a reason" from a stranger is just weird. Not only he agrees that the bad thing was supposed to happen, he implies that he knows there was "a greater plan" and that he has some knowledge about the whole situation that allows him to predict your future. I hate this phrase, because it's complete BS.
So yeah - downvoted for personal reasons ;)
Good luck to the guys.
Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#40everything happens for a reason, I am sure you will create something create after this.
I in no way meant the above to be negative. I was only trying to be encouraging. We have all had bad things happen, it's all about how you bounce back.