Ron Conway Drops A Nuclear Bomb On The Super Angels • Hacker News Board

Re: Ron Conway Drops A Nuclear Bomb On The Super Angels

#101

Post by nocman » Fri, Sep 24, 2010, 5:11 AM UTC

zaidf wrote: post #71

Devilboy wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'Asshole' is not a style

Don't listen to rap, then. Stick with pop.

You make it sound like pop is the only alternative to rap. I happen to like some of both (along with a lot of other styles of music), but am not interested in the rants of people who are acting like jerks from either musical style.

Dave McClure is free to write with the tone of a jerk all he wants. I don't know anything about him other than the post in question, but regardless of whether that's just his "style", I certainly wouldn't want to do business of any serious kind with him if it could possibly be avoided.

Re: Ron Conway Drops A Nuclear Bomb On The Super Angels

#102

Post by yurylifshits » Fri, Sep 24, 2010, 5:14 AM UTC

jimboyoungblood wrote: post #91

yurylifshits wrote: post #64

By the way, can this meeting be connected to Angel List ( http://angel.co/ ) in any way? As far as I understand, Angel List is an effort to create a centralized curated marketplace for angel investing. Seems very similar to AngelGate. Even if these are unrelated, I wonder, whether Angel List can be viewed as something against competition. On the other hand, Angel List simplifies angel fundrising a lot and therefore i…

AngelList has about as much in common with AngelGate as it does the Hells Angels. AngelList is the single most democratizing, pro-competitive thing that has happened to tech startup investing in a long time. (Disclaimer: i'm one of the angels on the list)

Happy to get my doubts answered :) And looking forward to use Angel List some day in the future.

Re: Ron Conway Drops A Nuclear Bomb On The Super Angels

#103

Post by fady » Fri, Sep 24, 2010, 5:17 AM UTC

via a comment on TC by "Hhhmmm":

This email reeks of someone trying to steer clear of trouble and keep their name clean.

It also reads more like a public blog post, not a private email.

I wouldn't be surprised if Conway tipped TC himself.

Am I right in thinking Conway attended two meetings? If he disagreed so strongly with what was being discussed, why return for the 2nd?

Re: Ron Conway Drops A Nuclear Bomb On The Super Angels

#104

Post by bl4k » Fri, Sep 24, 2010, 5:17 AM UTC

evgen wrote: post #56

alizaki wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

there are no adults in hollywood.

they are all over in the san fernando valley, or at least that is what their section 2257 docs claim...

upvoted in shame that I know what a sec 2257 is

Re: Ron Conway Drops A Nuclear Bomb On The Super Angels

#105

Post by philwelch » Fri, Sep 24, 2010, 5:18 AM UTC

lotusleaf1987 wrote: post #26

bretthellman wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It makes him standout from the crowd which is his goal IMO...

...It makes him look childish, impatient, immature, and less credible. If you're a professional, act like one. You wouldn't turn an essay in looking like that in junior high or high school, so why is it acceptable for him?

I'd be afraid of the answer if I asked an actual junior high school teacher which side of "average" that writing style would actually land him on in terms of a school essay.

Re: Ron Conway Drops A Nuclear Bomb On The Super Angels

#106

Post by adammichaelc » Fri, Sep 24, 2010, 5:27 AM UTC

jyothi wrote: post #99

It is very difficult to be what Ron Conway is. Respect. He is not preaching but living an example & telling others that it can be done. The problem is that this mail was meant only for super angels to possibly introspect and be influenced. Not to be beaten around in public forums embarrassing the investors. Sometimes confessions in private work better as a fix. It is hard in public. If Arrington had any sense he woul…

I don't agree that Arrington should have kept quiet. When you shine a light in a dark room you are able to see what people do when they think nobody is looking.

In Arrington's case, he gave the world a front-row seat in a meeting where the participants thought they were in private -- this is a very good thing in my opinion. With few exceptions, transparency is a win for society and business because it keeps people honest.

Arrington's report puts the "secret-meeting participants" on notice that they can't get away with this kind of thing, and it also alerts entrepreneurs to watch out for it. Both very good things.

Re: Ron Conway Drops A Nuclear Bomb On The Super Angels

#107

Post by narrator » Fri, Sep 24, 2010, 5:28 AM UTC

It almost reminds me of what happened with derivatives, securitization and HFT on wall street. The game became all about bamboozling the regulators and investors with complicated financial games instead of creating real wealth.

There's this ugly thing in American business where money is made on making things overly complicated. Where instead of trying to solve economic problems people are just trying to win at chess.

Re: Ron Conway Drops A Nuclear Bomb On The Super Angels

#108

Post by nocman » Fri, Sep 24, 2010, 5:29 AM UTC

Eliezer wrote: post #31

nkohari wrote: post #8

As an outsider to Silicon Valley, it really seems like it's full of drama and ego wars. Seeing grown men and women argue like children really makes me happy I resisted the urge to move out there.

The important thing is that you've found a way to feel superior to everyone there, I guess. http://xkcd.com/774/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/yp/pretending_to_be_wise/

Seems to me like you are jumping to a pretty big conclusion about nkohari's comment. Or am I misunderstanding what you were trying to say?

I didn't see any "feeling superior" at all in what nkohari said. You don't have to feel superior to someone who is behaving childishly just because you don't want to be around them. And I don't think he was targeting "everyone there" either. He just said Silicon Valley was "full of drama and ego wars". Now, perhaps "full of" is overly strong. I'm sure there are plenty of level-headed people in the mix too. But I don't doubt from what I've read and seen that there is plenty of "drama and ego wars" to go around.

Re: Ron Conway Drops A Nuclear Bomb On The Super Angels

#109

Post by kyro » Fri, Sep 24, 2010, 5:36 AM UTC

fady wrote: post #103

via a comment on TC by "Hhhmmm": This email reeks of someone trying to steer clear of trouble and keep their name clean. It also reads more like a public blog post, not a private email. I wouldn't be surprised if Conway tipped TC himself. Am I right in thinking Conway attended two meetings? If he disagreed so strongly with what was being discussed, why return for the 2nd?

With the reply to that saying he never attended either of the meetings.

Re: Ron Conway Drops A Nuclear Bomb On The Super Angels

#110

Post by credo » Fri, Sep 24, 2010, 5:40 AM UTC

adammichaelc wrote: post #5

My paraphrased short version: Ron Conway to the super-angels: I'm in this game because I love seeing entrepreneurs build cool stuff. You guys aren't. Stop worrying about term sheets and valuations and worry about adding value beyond cash. I've wanted to say this for a long time, but have bit my lip in your presence. I no longer want to be involved with any of you. And Dave McClure, quit being a classless embarrassmen…

That is a good summary. However, I'm surprised that so many other comments talk about Conway rocking, being a great individual etc.

When I read his email, my thought was that the email was a great image-building propaganda tool and that he wrote it with the knowledge that the email would be made public.

His email talks how great he is, how he loves entrepreneurs and how other investors are in it for self-serving factors like ego and money. Of course, I have no way of knowing whether that is true or not. However, I'm willing to bet that many unscrupulous investors could easily write a similar email.