Tattoos and Y Combinator Demo Day
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Tattoos and Y Combinator Demo Day
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Re: Tattoos and Y Combinator Demo Day
#2If I think about the best investments in startups ever, I think about Andy Bechtolsheim's investment in Google. The meeting lasted about 20 minutes then a check was cut. Peter Theil invested in Facebook after a 1 hour meeting.
Maybe some investors and founders want to date for a bit, but the biggest winners in history got in bed together without even dancing.
Re: Tattoos and Y Combinator Demo Day
#3You got a barbed wire wrap around tattoo after 1994? Ouch.
Re: Tattoos and Y Combinator Demo Day
#4If I think about the best investments in startups ever, I think about Andy Bechtolsheim's investment in Google. The meeting lasted about 20 minutes then a check was cut. Peter Theil invested in Facebook after a 1 hour meeting. Maybe some investors and founders want to date for a bit, but the biggest winners in history got in bed together without even dancing.
I'm not sure if these two aren't just outliers. The investors were pretty well known after all and had a lot of experience.
I think that closing a deal too fast can be as bad as dicussing it too long. Either you get a fast decission or not, brickering around to much about unecessary details is IMHO a sure sign that it takes too long. Not being asked any questions and just being thrown money for being part of a YC batch is, on the other hand, a sure sign it doesn't take long enough.
Re: Tattoos and Y Combinator Demo Day
#5You got a barbed wire wrap around tattoo after 1994? Ouch.
Re: Tattoos and Y Combinator Demo Day
#6I spent a ton of time trying to get to know entrepreneurs early--even before their ideas are fully formed or before they have their decks. That's where I think I'm going to have the best outcomes and where I'll be able to be the most useful investor--where everyone knows why they're in, what they're there for, and we can all thoughtfully get on the same page about the vision we're trying to move toward.
Great! I'm one of those entrepreneurs, but I am an unknown. Before I get into YC (assuming that happens), how do I get in touch with you, Mr. Investor?
Re: Tattoos and Y Combinator Demo Day
#7As someone pretty involved/familiar with tattoo culture, getting a flash piece off the wall is pretty common and accepted.
I mean obviously you don't walk into Tribal Overlord Tattoo on the strip in Orlando Florida (doesn't exist) and pick a biomechanical alien off the wall, but you would walk into say Smith St. Tattoo in Brooklyn (does exist) and pick something off the wall.
Re: Tattoos and Y Combinator Demo Day
#8I spent a ton of time trying to get to know entrepreneurs early--even before their ideas are fully formed or before they have their decks. That's where I think I'm going to have the best outcomes and where I'll be able to be the most useful investor--where everyone knows why they're in, what they're there for, and we can all thoughtfully get on the same page about the vision we're trying to move toward. Great! I'm on…
Try the link labeled "Meet with me" on the blog.
Re: Tattoos and Y Combinator Demo Day
#9I spent a ton of time trying to get to know entrepreneurs early--even before their ideas are fully formed or before they have their decks. That's where I think I'm going to have the best outcomes and where I'll be able to be the most useful investor--where everyone knows why they're in, what they're there for, and we can all thoughtfully get on the same page about the vision we're trying to move toward. Great! I'm on…
Try the link labeled "Meet with me" on the blog.
Believe me, I tried (not with this particular investor, but another one). If you're a nobody, no investor wants to talk to you. YC, and other similar programs, move you from the "nobody" group to a "somebody" group; but then you need demo days to efficiently introduce entrepreneurs to investors, and vice versa.
Re: Tattoos and Y Combinator Demo Day
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Try the link labeled "Meet with me" on the blog.
Believe me, I tried (not with this particular investor, but another one). If you're a nobody, no investor wants to talk to you. YC, and other similar programs, move you from the "nobody" group to a "somebody" group; but then you need demo days to efficiently introduce entrepreneurs to investors, and vice versa.
While that's a good point and a great advantage of YC, did you only try one other investor?
I have met with four VCs/early stage investors in NYC just by responding to blog posts or e-mailing in to contact me posts. I have obviously e-mailed and attempted to contact much more than four, but if you want to meet people the best way to do it is connect with them in a non-generic way via their blog, office hours, whatever means they prefer.
It's obviously not incredibly easy, but every investor knows the importance of dealflow, and it's getting harder to pre-screen for early stage deals (except using YC), so if you are persistent enough I think you can definitely get in front of the right people.