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Number 12 surprised me given the number of billionaires that would've failed it. Most are hyperfocused and opinionated early on to the point they don't care who

Number 12 surprised me given the number of billionaires that would've failed it. Most are hyperfocused and opinionated early on to the point they don't care who they piss off or destroy to dominate the market they're creating. He'll either get the ones that are consistently good on P.C./P.R. at the beginning or filter out the unicorns he might have gotten. That would be my guess based on what I've seen. How many unicorns or higher have his venture firm created in practice?

randomdata 10y ago
> How many unicorns or higher have his venture firm created in practice? I've never heard of any of them. https://angel.co/esignature https://angel.co/esignature The one exit was to another company held by the same firm.
- nickpsecurity 10y ago
  Best part of your link was: "Babycenter (a Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies)" Exact kind of line item you expect on the resume of unicorn-creating investors in Silicon Valley. ;)
- devmunchies 10y ago
  Greenhouse is one i've heard of. They're doing well.
maehwasu 10y ago
Yeah, selecting for founders who are PC-compliant seems mildly retarded, to say the least. The charitable reading is that the guy has a way he wishes the world were, and is trying to impose that vision on people he funds; which I mean, go with god dude.
- frivoal 10y ago
  There's a huge difference between being able to speak nicely despite being a dick, and not being a dick. I don't care if someone curses or is blunt about how they think something sucks, but one joke about how a certain person from sales who keeps bringing customers to hostess bars has a "nice but unfortunately expensive hobby", or to refer to engineers as "the autists", or to be glad that "the monkey is gone" when a black person leaves the room (all things I have heard from execs)... That does not show how bold and disruptive someone is, it just shows they are a terrible person. Maybe still a successful terrible person, but I still want nothing to do with people like that.
  - nickpsecurity 10y ago
    They'll probably still attract talent, though. That will get their startup going. At some point, it cleans its act up a little on the way to the acquisition or IPO. What I see happening. Always people willing to work with or under assholes so long as they might get rich. Hell, it might be the default model of employment for a good chunk of the American workforce now that I think about it. Just with wages instead of riches or IOU's from failed startups. ;)

randomdata 10y ago

> How many unicorns or higher have his venture firm created in practice? I've never heard of any of them. https://angel.co/esignature https://angel.co/esignature The one exit was to another company held by the same firm.

nickpsecurity 10y ago
Best part of your link was: "Babycenter (a Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies)" Exact kind of line item you expect on the resume of unicorn-creating investors in Silicon Valley. ;)
devmunchies 10y ago
Greenhouse is one i've heard of. They're doing well.

maehwasu 10y ago

Yeah, selecting for founders who are PC-compliant seems mildly retarded, to say the least. The charitable reading is that the guy has a way he wishes the world were, and is trying to impose that vision on people he funds; which I mean, go with god dude.

frivoal 10y ago
There's a huge difference between being able to speak nicely despite being a dick, and not being a dick. I don't care if someone curses or is blunt about how they think something sucks, but one joke about how a certain person from sales who keeps bringing customers to hostess bars has a "nice but unfortunately expensive hobby", or to refer to engineers as "the autists", or to be glad that "the monkey is gone" when a black person leaves the room (all things I have heard from execs)... That does not show how bold and disruptive someone is, it just shows they are a terrible person. Maybe still a successful terrible person, but I still want nothing to do with people like that.
- nickpsecurity 10y ago
  They'll probably still attract talent, though. That will get their startup going. At some point, it cleans its act up a little on the way to the acquisition or IPO. What I see happening. Always people willing to work with or under assholes so long as they might get rich. Hell, it might be the default model of employment for a good chunk of the American workforce now that I think about it. Just with wages instead of riches or IOU's from failed startups. ;)