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Bootup Labs' Danny Robinson: "I made mistakes. I was wrong. Lessons Learned."

blog.bootuplabs.com

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Re: Bootup Labs' Danny Robinson: "I made mistakes. I was wrong. Lessons Learned."

#31

Post by [deleted] »

gojomo wrote: post #18
dmix wrote: post #5

Bootup Lab's reputation has still been badly damaged. An entrepreneur's commitment and sacrifice to their business is very serious and they took a very nonchalant approach to handling this situation until the PR blew up. Of course Danny is sorry now. I'm sure Bootup will continue to do fine with finding new startups since entrepreneurs in need of cash are always in high supply. But competent entrepreneurs look for co…

Obviously there were screw-ups. But it's possible a major factor was someone else fell through on their investment commitment to Bootup Labs. They hinted at that, though quite rightly Bootup hasn't specifically named who fell through on them. They've taken the hit themselves. Depending on what the inside story is, some might respect them for that. When trying to make something new happen, you almost have to express p…

[deleted]

Re: Bootup Labs' Danny Robinson: "I made mistakes. I was wrong. Lessons Learned."

#32

Post by pavs »

stretchwithme wrote: post #27
Josh2010 wrote: post #21

Why is this guy any more trustworthy today after issuing an artfully written apology, that was clealry crafted by a PR professional skilled in crisis management communications? Don't forget, "actions speak louder than words." Startups do yourself a big favour and steer clear of this underfunded, unprofessional slow motion train wreck.

I love it when the shady and duplicitous finally realize they can no longer hide the facts and then apologize as a last resort.

I think this is a tricky situation. Lets say for the sake of argument that they honestly handled the situation _unbelievably_ wrong as opposed to being deliberately shady. They realized, right before the blog post, they needed to communicate better with everyone.

How differently should they have handled it other than what they wrote in the blog post?

I should acknowledge that my knowledge about the situation is only as deep as this blog post and the post they replied to. No knowledge about their past reputation.

Re: Bootup Labs' Danny Robinson: "I made mistakes. I was wrong. Lessons Learned."

#33

Post by jacquesm »

cperciva wrote: post #30

As Danny says, Bootup Labs has a long road ahead of them to regain the community's trust. I'm willing to give them that chance. At this point, I certainly couldn't recommend that a startup from outside of Vancouver move here to work with Bootup Labs, but for a startup in Vancouver -- treading carefully and making sure that money is in the bank and that legal agreements don't say anything evil -- I think Bootup Labs m…

Being associated with Bootup labs as a venture they've invested in may actually be a negative for a while.

A second round investor may think twice before entering into a partnership where bootup labs is already present.

Re: Bootup Labs' Danny Robinson: "I made mistakes. I was wrong. Lessons Learned."

#34

Post by cperciva »

jacquesm wrote: post #33
cperciva wrote: post #30

As Danny says, Bootup Labs has a long road ahead of them to regain the community's trust. I'm willing to give them that chance. At this point, I certainly couldn't recommend that a startup from outside of Vancouver move here to work with Bootup Labs, but for a startup in Vancouver -- treading carefully and making sure that money is in the bank and that legal agreements don't say anything evil -- I think Bootup Labs m…

Being associated with Bootup labs as a venture they've invested in may actually be a negative for a while. A second round investor may think twice before entering into a partnership where bootup labs is already present.

As long as Bootup Labs is a silent investor (and AFAIK they don't take board seats), why would future investors care?

Re: Bootup Labs' Danny Robinson: "I made mistakes. I was wrong. Lessons Learned."

#35

Post by mos1 »

cookiecaper wrote: post #15
necrecious wrote: post #12

Anyone got a good round up of what happened? The post provided links to parts of the previous conversation but I'd rather read a good article summing everything up.

Here's the summary as I understand it. Bootup Labs accepted 7 startups into its program this January. The proprietors of these startups agreed and finalized the paperwork and moved up to Vancouver to participate. They were told shortly after arrival that there may be some hiccups with the funding but not to worry and they'd get it all straightened out. In the meantime, Bootup Labs paid the living expenses for at leas…

nothing more than a "Thanks for trying, sorry about this."

Actually, they got a request that they be grateful that they received some minor expenses, and some whinging that BUL paid some money but didn't receive a finished product.

"Sorry about this" would've been nigh infinitely better, as it would've shown some understanding of the value proposition as viewed by the entrepreneur.

Re: Bootup Labs' Danny Robinson: "I made mistakes. I was wrong. Lessons Learned."

#36

Post by notoriousg »

cperciva wrote: post #34
jacquesm wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being associated with Bootup labs as a venture they've invested in may actually be a negative for a while. A second round investor may think twice before entering into a partnership where bootup labs is already present.

As long as Bootup Labs is a silent investor (and AFAIK they don't take board seats), why would future investors care?

Are you joking? Lets see... unprofessional behaviour , poor judgement, no results, poor track record and bad reputation.

Sorry to be blunt, but in the investment community past perfromance and reputation are everything. These guys are done like dinner. For their own sakes, and for the health of Vancouver startups, they should pursue other careers.

Re: Bootup Labs' Danny Robinson: "I made mistakes. I was wrong. Lessons Learned."

#37

Post by keeptrying »

This kind of thing really makes me sick. At the very least we should see an offer of monetary help for the startups that were dropped. Ie he should help out the people he financially hurt even though they dont matter to him anymore. That action would win him points and get him on the way to regaining his credibility.

Re: Bootup Labs' Danny Robinson: "I made mistakes. I was wrong. Lessons Learned."

#38

Post by notoriousg »

lrm242 wrote: post #3
ghurlman wrote: post #2

Too little, too late.

Its never too late to stand up and admit your mistakes.

Maybe God sees it that way, but the world and most juries aren't quite as forgiving. Just ask Conrad Black, Matha Stewart or Bernie Madoff.

Re: Bootup Labs' Danny Robinson: "I made mistakes. I was wrong. Lessons Learned."

#39

Post by jacquesm »

cperciva wrote: post #34
jacquesm wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being associated with Bootup labs as a venture they've invested in may actually be a negative for a while. A second round investor may think twice before entering into a partnership where bootup labs is already present.

As long as Bootup Labs is a silent investor (and AFAIK they don't take board seats), why would future investors care?

The investment world is pretty small, especially in Canada.

Getting an investment from a company that is second rate immediately qualifies a startup as second rate, as though you've tried the more serious outfits and finally had to resort to 'plan b'.

Just like having kpcb (I know they're not Canadian, and not exactly angel investors, just to illustrate the point) on board is an automatic stamp of approval, the reverse also holds true. If I were on board of one of their other investments I'd definitely be concerned about the effect for follow up rounds. It's not just your company that matters, but also the company you keep.

Re: Bootup Labs' Danny Robinson: "I made mistakes. I was wrong. Lessons Learned."

#40

Post by gojomo »

alexro wrote: post #26
gojomo wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Obviously there were screw-ups. But it's possible a major factor was someone else fell through on their investment commitment to Bootup Labs. They hinted at that, though quite rightly Bootup hasn't specifically named who fell through on them. They've taken the hit themselves. Depending on what the inside story is, some might respect them for that. When trying to make something new happen, you almost have to express p…

And the first thing they said was : "you must be grateful for all we did to you". Screw them

Jamie Martin: "I just wanted to add that I have no hard feelings for Bootup Labs, for Danny, Boris, or anybody we met, I don’t think it’s anything intentional they did. But there are lessons to be learned from what happened from our situation."

Funny and sad that the commenter lynch mob has a lot more righteous anger -- "Screw them" -- than the people actually involved.

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