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Ron Conway Drops A Nuclear Bomb On The Super Angels

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

#201
post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Rejecting the idea of "genuinely bad guys" leads to the conclusion that they should be punished The idea of individual punishment also was emphasized in Zoroastrianism and spread its way into the global human psyche. Punishment is a very natural tool for us but it's clumsy. I would elaborate more but it takes a lot of words to explain a different paradigm and uncover hidden assumptions. I'm not saying you're wrong;…

Perhaps the idea that punishment should always be individual, never collective, started with Zoroastrianism (I haven't a clue) but individual punishment predates it by a wee bit. For example (got this all from Wikipedia; you can verify it there), the Code Of Hammurabi predates Zoroastrianism by hundreds of years. Wikipedia lists seventeen examples from the code; each example describes an individual punishment based o…

Thanks, that's an important distinction. The punishment idea already existed; Zoroastrianism simply emphasized individual responsibility (and therefore punishment). Thanks for the correction.

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

#203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, the worst part of his writing is his use of foul language. I do not want to have my mind littered with such filth. I have nearly two decades of business experience, and I have never come across anyone who comes remotely close to approximating the grossly unprofessional manner in which Dave communicates. How could professional colleagues and entrepreneurs put up with that? His style is a reflection of substanc…

It is just simply improper and disrespectful of others for anyone to communicate in the manner that Dave has I think that is the essence of his persona. The whole justification for it-- I'm smart and I have money so I don't have to show anyone respect. Deal with it or leave. It reminds me of my concept of ancient Rome for some reason. A place where power ruled, rather than the concept of egalitarianism.

humans are hierarchical creatures, but that doesn't mean that rankism is acceptable. "might is not right".

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

#204
post #161
post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Austin = Smoking behind the bleachers for adults?

All right, all right, all right.

i would actually like the analogy continued.. i'm mobile and i find it to be informative about various US cities.

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

#205
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Conway didn't say that he's not interested in making lots of money. Sounded to me like he was just pointing out that making money is not his primary motivation for investing. Now, I don't know him at all, so I can't vouch for whether he's being honest or not. However, I'd like to point out that there are plenty of free-market-loving capitalists in this country (present company included) who do the things they do with…

Agreed. I was asked by my boss to "examine my priorities" when I came in 5 after 8 from driving by son to his new school (we were moving, I wanted him to be in same school for the whole year). Next morning I delivered my prioritized list to him - work was #12. Try it, you will be surprised. Don't get me wrong, money is part of the equation for me, but certainly I won't sacrifice health, family, security etc for a lit…

How did he respond?

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

#206
post #110

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 fact…

That strikes me as a difficult theory to credit, based on my interactions with Conway, to say nothing of his reputation. He's the straightest of the straight shooters.

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

#207
post #147
post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 fact…

Ron would not do that. First, he's not the sort of person who would write an email hoping it would be leaked. If he has something to say, he just says it. But also, if he'd written this to be leaked, it wouldn't sound like this; he wouldn't have said some of the things he did, and he would have showed it to his posse, who would have fixed the misspelling of "entrepreneur." I suspect he is mortified this got out. It m…

hope you're not talking about me Paul.

I didn't leak ron's email, and I've been consistently public about this from the beginning.

the issue here isn't collusion, it's convertible notes.

your post on hi-def investing captures it perfectly, and some investor are likely not comfortable with that.

however I agree with you, and conv notes are definitely the future of early-stage investing...

angelgate sensationalism or not, that's the core issue here.

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

#208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. I was asked by my boss to "examine my priorities" when I came in 5 after 8 from driving by son to his new school (we were moving, I wanted him to be in same school for the whole year). Next morning I delivered my prioritized list to him - work was #12. Try it, you will be surprised. Don't get me wrong, money is part of the equation for me, but certainly I won't sacrifice health, family, security etc for a lit…

How did he respond?

I worked there for years after. I learned later he was stressed that day - three separate people walked into his office at different times, saying they were going to quit if something didn't change (I wasn't one of them). I guess he changed, I didn't hear any more about it.

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

#209
post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/bush.asp

Unless I misinterpreted the purpose of your link, the denial of a conversation by a politician's PR flunkie does not mean it didn't happen.

Perhaps not but you could say that about a lot of things. People will make up their own minds, and most will do so based on their preexisting biases. Those who try to keep an open mind should be aware that this story is a rumour based on hearsay, not a verifiable fact.
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