The Hacker's Guide to Investors

Great article in many ways but i nearly fell off my chair when i saw the photos of the team at Redpoint.......that was scary.

VCs look for Sergey & Page? It seems to me that the hype about these two was pure PR, but who actually brought all the business to the company (including the AOL deal) is Omid Kordestani - who, as little as it is known, was third in amount of stock owned, and also has half of the company report to him.

I would like to comment your (P.G.) other essay, about Unions (An alternative theory of Unions): I'm sorry i'm posting here, I did'nt found the link to comment the exact essay.

What you said (and what you usually says) is right from the point of view of a person non really interested in the quality of other people's life.

Is quite obvious to see that the world is producing a lot more than before and that the difference between poor and rich is becoming wider (in USA, your country, more than in Europe, but we are copying you in this too...): the question is not if they were paid more than they were entitled for, and now their price is "the right one".

The question is: which kind of society are we building? Which kind of countries are we shaping? Which world we want to live in? A world made of people who can stand, one beside the other, without slave (official or unofficial...).

You want a society where the stronger eats the weaker. It's not the world I want. I don't want to earn so much, it's not there happiness. Is not buying things that brings happiness: I'd rather prefer a society where the state take part of the resources to take care of people that are lessa ble or lucky or whatever...

I want a better Atene not a better Sparta. And if you have studied philosophy (that you wrong said not teaching nothing to people...very unlucky words) you would had known that no society can resists in such a disparity. You know history better than me: our time, in the west, is not so full of revolutions, but just few years ago we were killing each others...remember that if you push someone's shoulders against a wall, you force him to fight or die.

The essay neglects what happens to the 9 of 10 companies that don't, as far as the VCs are concerned, pan out. Closing them down means they have to give any remaining money back to the investors -- including their own fees they had already pocketed. Any dollar the company doesn't spend before it dies means money from the VC's own pocket.

The solution is to drain the company. The VCs install executives they owe favors to, at massively inflated salaries. They make the company hand over millions to "market research" and outsourced marketing companies. They make the company sign big service and equipment contracts. Each of these deals means a kickback or a favor owed. Best of all is if the money goes to one of the properties not being drained, or somebody the VC owes, or personally owns stock in.

It's no accident so many companies folded after buying unnecessary enterprise-grade Oracle and Vignette licenses.

I am overwhelmed ... seriously I never had such a precise dose about investors.

I am reading all articles one by one for last 6 hours.

And I will continue doing so. Because everything I find here so right and complete.

thanks a lot...