I shouldn't have said that Bootup Labs had "no money" - I should have put "no money for us." I'm not trying to suggest that Bootup Labs is bankrupt or anything, I apologize.
Alright, sorry.. I'm used to reddit moreso than HN.
Booted out of Bootup Labs
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Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
Above livejamie has found himself a potential opportunity with Digg.
Bad situations always leave room for learning, growth and positive outcomes, so long as you are willing to look at it from a positive perspective.
Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree completely with apphacker. Being evil or unfair on the Internet is anathema to a (web) startup-related enterprise. 3 out of 7 startups funded is ridiculous. With this hitting the HN community, your best hope is that all three of those startups make it big, or you've just lost whatever credibility you have (with startups that count). Good luck.
Perhaps in the interests of total transparency on this, Bootup should come clean and reveal precisely how the so-called "Management Fee" is disbursed going forward? $50K for 8 months is a lot of rent and accounting services. If the Management Fee pays for the managers' salaries, like Danny and Boris Wertz, then they are not necessarily incentivized to have quality startups in each cohort... more important to Bootup i…
Boris Wertz is a Vancouver VC who now invests in Bootup, Boris Mann is a founder of Bootup Labs. Just wanted to clear that up.
Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#74When 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…
> On behalf of Canadians in general and Vancouverites especially: We're really sorry about this.
Allow me to note something. As a Canadian and a Vancouverite.
While I do not particularly like Bootup Labs for a variety of reasons, I cannot say that I believe either side of the story and that I can form an objective opinion. For this reason I find it strange that you take it on yourself to apologize on my behalf.
Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#75When 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…
My girlfriend's from the gulf islands in B.C. so of course I always hear how wonderful it is and how nice Van is. Needless to say I was especially excited when I read about Bootup Labs.
Even after contacting them it never felt right and we passed. I really feel for these guy, that could have been us.
Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#76When 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…
> On behalf of Canadians in general and Vancouverites especially: We're really sorry about this. Allow me to note something. As a Canadian and a Vancouverite. While I do not particularly like Bootup Labs for a variety of reasons, I cannot say that I believe either side of the story and that I can form an objective opinion. For this reason I find it strange that you take it on yourself to apologize on my behalf.
As a Canadian, I'm sure you realize that we apologize for everything, whether it's our fault or not. :-)
But aside from that -- even from what Bootup Labs is saying, this situation is very unfortunate for the status.ly founders and something I hope nobody else has to go through.
Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Doesn't your legal counsel suggest you , you know, don't engage in arguments in public internet forums that could lead to actionable court cases? Should this turn out to not be the truth, even the slightest unintentional misappropriation of funds for a pizza could end up costing your company a great deal.
It won't, because the Canadian justice system is much saner than the US justice system.
Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#78Bootup Labs has posted their side of the story on their blog: http://blog.bootuplabs.com/2010/04/14/wertz-joins-board-firs...
Adding Boris Wertz was a great move, and not a moment too soon. He adds credibility, and capital, to Bootup at the time when they need it most.
It's a good thing, too. While their misfortune has certainly hurt people, myself included, Bootup is a great addition to the Vancouver startup ecosystem. 3 new companies is far better than 0 in my books. They also throw fantastic events and mentor many more entrepreneurs than they fund.
I was trying to put together a real-estate deal for a Bootup coworking space in December, but in January - when I assume the funding round fell apart - Boris (Mann) became quite scarce. I'm over it. They took on an uphill battle and are hustling to keep the business alive. I think they deserve credit for surviving when others might have folded. As a member of the Vancouver startup community, I'm happy to still have them around. Anyone who has met Boris or Danny can tell that they are genuine in their passion for entrepreneurship and wouldn't have done this if it wasn't strictly necessary. They also have built a kickass portfolio of companies in a short time.
Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#79More on Vancouver's Techvibes.com... http://www.techvibes.com/blog/bootup-labs-20-now-with-more-m...
But now with Boris Wertz on board, new funding secured, and the spotlight of this story, there is no doubt that due diligence on all sides will improve and the next cohort of startups will be better than ever.
Hmm, ok.
Disclosure: Boris Wertz is an investor in Techvibes Media Inc.
Surprise, surprise.
Re: Booted out of Bootup Labs
#80Boo the VC's in this one! The investors of BootupLabs did not have confidence in 57% of their latest pool of startups. i wonder why they invested at all if they dont fully back their judgement? Here's what probably happened, I bet the investors squeezed Boris and Danny with the alternative option being closing their doors early on all 7 companies. Sometimes VC's do evil things to extract more ownership in last minute…
This might be a valid assertion if there were any VCs investing in Bootup Labs. There evidently aren't.
Evidently, the VC's investing in BootupLabs are 'W media ventures' and 'growthworks'.
http://blog.bootuplabs.com/2010/04/14/wertz-joins-board-firs...