7 ms·

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

69 points by scg 16y ago

ghurlman 16y ago
Too little, too late.
- lrm242 16y ago
  Its never too late to stand up and admit your mistakes.
  - ghurlman 16y ago
    True, though the impact is somewhat tempered when only done to save your own skin.
    - Josh2010 16y ago
      Too True, and the apology was professionally written/reviewed by a PR expert with crisis management experience. Anyone wanting to start a business here is so naive they can't discern fact from fiction. Given the young age and limited experience of most of the entrepreneurs this is like fishing in a barrel. Be smart, act on facts, not fiction.
  - apike 16y ago
    Indeed. Normally when a person or company makes a highly visible mistake they make sure it doesn't happen again. I think that Danny's defensiveness was a lot of what fueled the bad PR, since it drove expectations that this could happen again. An explicit commitment that it won't is a big improvement and exactly what was needed.
  - notoriousg 16y ago
    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.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
dmix 16y ago
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 competent investors and the real test now is if Bootup labs is capable of getting/being either of those.
- gojomo 16y ago
  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 preemptive confidence, and gloss over some of the caveats applying to outlier possibilities. You say, "We have the investors all lined up", not "We have the investors all lined up, as long as the people I believe are solidly reliable remain reliable". 99 times out of 100, avoiding such pedantic qualifications helps the joint effort. Sometimes it blows up. Here it blew up, and then slow communication made it worse, but such mistakes happen among the ever-hopeful.
  - alexro 16y ago
    And the first thing they said was : "you must be grateful for all we did to you". Screw them
    - gojomo 16y ago
      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.
twidlit 16y ago
He failed but he didn't fail fast. :) but the important thing is he learned a lesson and wrote about it.
- gizmo 16y ago
  Ehm, what!? The important thing isn't that he "learned a lesson". His actions had real consequences, and an apology (sincere as it may be) does not absolve him. Not in the least. It's doubtful he's really changed, because he apparently needed advise from many people to figure out that his actions were far from honorable. For all we know he's simply in damage-control mode. Especially to sum it up as "Made a mistake. Lesson learned." (post title) strikes me as especially glib. An apology is now in his best interest, so of course he's going to apologize. It's not as if he has a choice. That said, I do believe he feels bad about the situation, and I think the apology is sincere. But I also think that his original actions were scummy, and that his instinctive reaction (cover up / hope it blows over / attacking victim on internet) shows his character. And people don't really change overnight, so he's still that kind of guy. So the important lesson, if there is one, is to stay away from bootuplabs.
chegra84 16y ago
Danny, Words whisper, Actions scream. In order to combat this situation, offer the cut teams tangible help. And, don't let it be something like:" If I could help in anyway!" Jesus Christ man, you already know how you could help; these guys need money. Use your connects to link them with some angel investors/ VC. After, this am sure everyone would forgive and applaud you. And the publicity and the goodwill gained goes a long way. It is just too easy to say am sorry.
- dannyrobinson 16y ago
  You're right! I will continue to work with everyone involved. Another accelerator was interested in possibly taking Status.ly in for their summer program, and I let Jamie know.
  - chegra84 16y ago
    Your equivocal words aren't going to help-"Possibly". And, they don't need the money couple months from now; they need it now.
    - cperciva 16y ago
      I think at this point Danny has learned his lesson about not promising more than he can deliver. If he was contacted by another accelerator which said that they might be interested in taking Status.ly, he's exactly right to say "possibly".
      - chegra84 16y ago
        My point was to get something more solid.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - jacquesm 16y ago
    So, how about you pull your checkbook and compensate those guys for ripping their lives up on your promise? That seems to be the least you should do, given that you've 'seen the light' and realize how badly you f'd up.
necrecious 16y ago
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.
- cookiecaper 16y ago
  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 least some of the startups but the capital never materialized. In March, Bootup Labs had secured new investors, but the investment wasn't enough to keep all seven startups alive. They cut four of the seven loose just like that, with no money to help make their way back to their places of origin, no capital invested, and nothing more than a "Thanks for trying, sorry about this." Status.ly proprietor Jamie Something wrote a post about it and the thing kind of blew up. Again, that's the story as I understand it. All corrections are welcome.
  - mos1 16y ago
    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.
prog 16y ago
Looks like statusly is for sale. http://statuslyforsale.tumblr.com/ http://statuslyforsale.tumblr.com/ The post that talks about this: http://livejamie.com/post/522093261/booted-out-of-bootup-labs http://livejamie.com/post/522093261/booted-out-of-bootup-lab...
olliesaunders 16y ago
Whoa, I would not like to be this guy right now.
Josh2010 16y ago
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.
- stretchwithme 16y ago
  I love it when the shady and duplicitous finally realize they can no longer hide the facts and then apologize as a last resort.
  - pavs 16y ago
    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.
    - jacquesm 16y ago
      For starters they could offer to compensate those wrongfully booted out because of their failure for costs incurred. That would go a long way to showing they really care about them, instead of just about their own reputation. I see this as a salvaging operation, probably at the instigation of the new investor they've found, a way to use the fact that they are in the spotlight to do a cheap 'mea culpa' while getting as much mileage out of it for their own shop. There is no such thing as 'bad publicity', especially not if you can spin it to your advantage by showing what an upstanding guy you are by apologizing in public. But words are cheap. Maybe I'm too cynical here, but really if they did anything over and beyond simply saying stuff I'd be a lot more convinced this is heartfelt.
Josh2010 16y ago
Human nature makes us want to forgive and forget. Donlt get sucked into this. Keep a lear head and select your incubator and mentors based on facts, not emotions. Bootup sucked young entrepreneurs into their "cool clubhouse" mystique, when there was no substance or cash. The total funds raised by BUL in 2 years is insufficient for even one decent startup - how are they going to fund 11 or 12 companies in any viable way? Don't get sucked into the hype, stay clear of this bullsh*t.
ananthrk 16y ago
Though it does not help Jamie now, it indeed sounds a honest apology (especially #3). Glad to see that Jason.
rdl 16y ago
I don't think proceeding without "money in the bank" is THAT unusual for startups. There is a certain minimum buffer, but once an investor signs up, and paperwork/etc. is executed, most people would go ahead with signing leases for buildings, hiring, etc. with even only a few months more of cash on hand. Maybe you don't want your incubator/investor to behave like a startup, though.
jacquesm 16y ago
This is just damage control, nothing else. Bootuplabs have egg all over their faces and pretty much deserve to be ignored by any serious startup. An apology doesn't go far enough, if half of what I read about this is true they should send those guys some money to cover the costs they made to move to Vancouver. The thing they're probably really sorry about is that it got as much play as it did, I don't think they expected a not-so-spectacular startup to get that kind of PR on being axed, more so than they probably would have gotten during a launch.
cperciva 16y ago
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 might still be an option. And if Bootup Labs has a few years of success stories, well, that might just redeem them.
- jacquesm 16y ago
  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.
  - cperciva 16y ago
    As long as Bootup Labs is a silent investor (and AFAIK they don't take board seats), why would future investors care?
    - notoriousg 16y ago
      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.
    - jacquesm 16y ago
      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.
keeptrying 16y ago
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.
libretard 16y ago
"Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence" - Napoleon Bonaparte.
starkfist 16y ago
Would this scenario have broken laws in the US?
Mr_Donut 16y ago
I think it's pretty easy to take shots from the sidelines. It's fairly obvious that the vast majority of you guys know very little about the start-up environment in Vancouver. We need guys like Danny and Bootup to take some risks in order to develop our ecosystem. In this case, an error resulted. They didn't want that to happen, but it happened. Crucifying these guys after the fact helps no one. If there's value in Status.ly, either someone else will step in and fund it or someone will buy it. Entrepreneurial risk takes many forms. As for the "slick PR messaging", you guys obviously don't know Danny.
- Josh2010 16y ago
  Help like this entrepreneurs don't need! The facts are BootOut FU'd up big time and anyone who recommends them is either a buddy, a rookie, a groupie or a government wanker wannabe. Stay clear of these #Fail douches!
- jamie2011 16y ago
  Are you retarded or danny's brother or something? In this case the "error" was a serious and warning other entrepreneurs will help lots of entrepreneurs make better decisions in the future. The only thing BootOut was ever any good at was social media PR... the rest has real value less than zero. We all know there is entrepreneurial risk in new ventures, that's why funding sources for these ventures should be solid, not unstable funds run by individuals with no related experience and a history of business failures.
- pwntrepreneur 16y ago
  Bootup needs to act like a grown up. 1. Don't intake companies until financing is in the bank. 2. Have agreements for all intake companies before they start. A term sheet is not binding, and frankly, should only be used to reflect the business points in the agreement. Don't rely on it. 3. Recognize that they are dealing with unsophisticated entrepreneurs. Don't try to bullshit them with big words like "capital call." Help them help themselves. 4. Get more people on the board that understand investing. The principals are nice guys, but they are not bankable in the investing world. They need two more people like Boris Wertz on the board, not hide behind some bullshit advisory board. 5. The principals should take finance lessons.
Josh2010 16y ago
BootOUT Labs, Vancouver's Internet Startup De-accelerator! LOL!
bootoutlabs 16y ago
Not bankable is the operative term! There are no principals with any related education or financial experience. Explains the present results, n'est ce pas?

69 points by scg 16y ago

ghurlman 16y ago

Too little, too late.

lrm242 16y ago
Its never too late to stand up and admit your mistakes.
- ghurlman 16y ago
  True, though the impact is somewhat tempered when only done to save your own skin.
  - Josh2010 16y ago
    Too True, and the apology was professionally written/reviewed by a PR expert with crisis management experience. Anyone wanting to start a business here is so naive they can't discern fact from fiction. Given the young age and limited experience of most of the entrepreneurs this is like fishing in a barrel. Be smart, act on facts, not fiction.
- apike 16y ago
  Indeed. Normally when a person or company makes a highly visible mistake they make sure it doesn't happen again. I think that Danny's defensiveness was a lot of what fueled the bad PR, since it drove expectations that this could happen again. An explicit commitment that it won't is a big improvement and exactly what was needed.
- notoriousg 16y ago
  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.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

dmix 16y ago

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 competent investors and the real test now is if Bootup labs is capable of getting/being either of those.

gojomo 16y ago
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 preemptive confidence, and gloss over some of the caveats applying to outlier possibilities. You say, "We have the investors all lined up", not "We have the investors all lined up, as long as the people I believe are solidly reliable remain reliable". 99 times out of 100, avoiding such pedantic qualifications helps the joint effort. Sometimes it blows up. Here it blew up, and then slow communication made it worse, but such mistakes happen among the ever-hopeful.
- alexro 16y ago
  And the first thing they said was : "you must be grateful for all we did to you". Screw them
  - gojomo 16y ago
    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.

twidlit 16y ago

He failed but he didn't fail fast. :) but the important thing is he learned a lesson and wrote about it.

gizmo 16y ago
Ehm, what!? The important thing isn't that he "learned a lesson". His actions had real consequences, and an apology (sincere as it may be) does not absolve him. Not in the least. It's doubtful he's really changed, because he apparently needed advise from many people to figure out that his actions were far from honorable. For all we know he's simply in damage-control mode. Especially to sum it up as "Made a mistake. Lesson learned." (post title) strikes me as especially glib. An apology is now in his best interest, so of course he's going to apologize. It's not as if he has a choice. That said, I do believe he feels bad about the situation, and I think the apology is sincere. But I also think that his original actions were scummy, and that his instinctive reaction (cover up / hope it blows over / attacking victim on internet) shows his character. And people don't really change overnight, so he's still that kind of guy. So the important lesson, if there is one, is to stay away from bootuplabs.

chegra84 16y ago

Danny, Words whisper, Actions scream. In order to combat this situation, offer the cut teams tangible help. And, don't let it be something like:" If I could help in anyway!" Jesus Christ man, you already know how you could help; these guys need money. Use your connects to link them with some angel investors/ VC. After, this am sure everyone would forgive and applaud you. And the publicity and the goodwill gained goes a long way. It is just too easy to say am sorry.

dannyrobinson 16y ago
You're right! I will continue to work with everyone involved. Another accelerator was interested in possibly taking Status.ly in for their summer program, and I let Jamie know.
- chegra84 16y ago
  Your equivocal words aren't going to help-"Possibly". And, they don't need the money couple months from now; they need it now.
  - cperciva 16y ago
    I think at this point Danny has learned his lesson about not promising more than he can deliver. If he was contacted by another accelerator which said that they might be interested in taking Status.ly, he's exactly right to say "possibly".
    - chegra84 16y ago
      My point was to get something more solid.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- jacquesm 16y ago
  So, how about you pull your checkbook and compensate those guys for ripping their lives up on your promise? That seems to be the least you should do, given that you've 'seen the light' and realize how badly you f'd up.

necrecious 16y ago

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.

cookiecaper 16y ago
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 least some of the startups but the capital never materialized. In March, Bootup Labs had secured new investors, but the investment wasn't enough to keep all seven startups alive. They cut four of the seven loose just like that, with no money to help make their way back to their places of origin, no capital invested, and nothing more than a "Thanks for trying, sorry about this." Status.ly proprietor Jamie Something wrote a post about it and the thing kind of blew up. Again, that's the story as I understand it. All corrections are welcome.
- mos1 16y ago
  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.

prog 16y ago

Looks like statusly is for sale. http://statuslyforsale.tumblr.com/ http://statuslyforsale.tumblr.com/ The post that talks about this: http://livejamie.com/post/522093261/booted-out-of-bootup-labs http://livejamie.com/post/522093261/booted-out-of-bootup-lab...

olliesaunders 16y ago

Whoa, I would not like to be this guy right now.

Josh2010 16y ago

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.

stretchwithme 16y ago
I love it when the shady and duplicitous finally realize they can no longer hide the facts and then apologize as a last resort.
- pavs 16y ago
  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.
  - jacquesm 16y ago
    For starters they could offer to compensate those wrongfully booted out because of their failure for costs incurred. That would go a long way to showing they really care about them, instead of just about their own reputation. I see this as a salvaging operation, probably at the instigation of the new investor they've found, a way to use the fact that they are in the spotlight to do a cheap 'mea culpa' while getting as much mileage out of it for their own shop. There is no such thing as 'bad publicity', especially not if you can spin it to your advantage by showing what an upstanding guy you are by apologizing in public. But words are cheap. Maybe I'm too cynical here, but really if they did anything over and beyond simply saying stuff I'd be a lot more convinced this is heartfelt.

Josh2010 16y ago

Human nature makes us want to forgive and forget. Donlt get sucked into this. Keep a lear head and select your incubator and mentors based on facts, not emotions. Bootup sucked young entrepreneurs into their "cool clubhouse" mystique, when there was no substance or cash. The total funds raised by BUL in 2 years is insufficient for even one decent startup - how are they going to fund 11 or 12 companies in any viable way? Don't get sucked into the hype, stay clear of this bullsh*t.

ananthrk 16y ago

Though it does not help Jamie now, it indeed sounds a honest apology (especially #3). Glad to see that Jason.

rdl 16y ago

I don't think proceeding without "money in the bank" is THAT unusual for startups. There is a certain minimum buffer, but once an investor signs up, and paperwork/etc. is executed, most people would go ahead with signing leases for buildings, hiring, etc. with even only a few months more of cash on hand. Maybe you don't want your incubator/investor to behave like a startup, though.

jacquesm 16y ago

This is just damage control, nothing else. Bootuplabs have egg all over their faces and pretty much deserve to be ignored by any serious startup. An apology doesn't go far enough, if half of what I read about this is true they should send those guys some money to cover the costs they made to move to Vancouver. The thing they're probably really sorry about is that it got as much play as it did, I don't think they expected a not-so-spectacular startup to get that kind of PR on being axed, more so than they probably would have gotten during a launch.

cperciva 16y ago

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 might still be an option. And if Bootup Labs has a few years of success stories, well, that might just redeem them.

jacquesm 16y ago
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.
- cperciva 16y ago
  As long as Bootup Labs is a silent investor (and AFAIK they don't take board seats), why would future investors care?
  - notoriousg 16y ago
    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.
  - jacquesm 16y ago
    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.

keeptrying 16y ago

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.

libretard 16y ago

"Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence" - Napoleon Bonaparte.

starkfist 16y ago

Would this scenario have broken laws in the US?

Mr_Donut 16y ago

I think it's pretty easy to take shots from the sidelines. It's fairly obvious that the vast majority of you guys know very little about the start-up environment in Vancouver. We need guys like Danny and Bootup to take some risks in order to develop our ecosystem. In this case, an error resulted. They didn't want that to happen, but it happened. Crucifying these guys after the fact helps no one. If there's value in Status.ly, either someone else will step in and fund it or someone will buy it. Entrepreneurial risk takes many forms. As for the "slick PR messaging", you guys obviously don't know Danny.

Josh2010 16y ago
Help like this entrepreneurs don't need! The facts are BootOut FU'd up big time and anyone who recommends them is either a buddy, a rookie, a groupie or a government wanker wannabe. Stay clear of these #Fail douches!
jamie2011 16y ago
Are you retarded or danny's brother or something? In this case the "error" was a serious and warning other entrepreneurs will help lots of entrepreneurs make better decisions in the future. The only thing BootOut was ever any good at was social media PR... the rest has real value less than zero. We all know there is entrepreneurial risk in new ventures, that's why funding sources for these ventures should be solid, not unstable funds run by individuals with no related experience and a history of business failures.
pwntrepreneur 16y ago
Bootup needs to act like a grown up. 1. Don't intake companies until financing is in the bank. 2. Have agreements for all intake companies before they start. A term sheet is not binding, and frankly, should only be used to reflect the business points in the agreement. Don't rely on it. 3. Recognize that they are dealing with unsophisticated entrepreneurs. Don't try to bullshit them with big words like "capital call." Help them help themselves. 4. Get more people on the board that understand investing. The principals are nice guys, but they are not bankable in the investing world. They need two more people like Boris Wertz on the board, not hide behind some bullshit advisory board. 5. The principals should take finance lessons.

Josh2010 16y ago

BootOUT Labs, Vancouver's Internet Startup De-accelerator! LOL!

bootoutlabs 16y ago

Not bankable is the operative term! There are no principals with any related education or financial experience. Explains the present results, n'est ce pas?