10 ms·

vs was poor and hasty diction on my part. I didn't mean to come across as adversarial (or critical), so I apologize if it reads like that. Can we still AYA, i.

vs was poor and hasty diction on my part. I didn't mean to come across as adversarial (or critical), so I apologize if it reads like that. Can we still AYA, i.e. what about your actual strategy will you divulge? Am I at all close that you're trending towards being the next Ron Conway?

joshu 16y ago
I meant Max was sounding adversarial. He seems very angry, anyway. Big chip on his shoulder maybe? Some of it I will divulge. Some of it I'd be happy to tell you directly someday. I should have dropped a note when I was last in Boston. My investment serves several goals. I have a bunch of markers, horizontal business types, and vertical industries by which I evaluate things like the nature of competition the startup will enter. I don't do as much due diligence, because I am following on with other investors who DO do more of this. I also feel that there's a lot less value to it at the earliest stages. I am also looking to be more connected and more present in the Valley. Consider it sowing seeds.
- maxklein 16y ago
  Saying I "don't have a clue" and that I want to "look down on somebody" is not very nice. I have no reason to be angry at you, do I? I don't know you. Perhaps you're not used to people telling you their honest opinion anymore. That's my opinion about your strategy from what I read in that thread - it's what I think and what I will continue to think. Sometimes you will do things that other people think is shit. Actually, most things you do, some people will think it's shit. If nobody ever tells you that, it means you are surrounded by dishonest people, or people that are afraid of offending you. I'm obviously not afraid of offending you, as I need nothing from you and you need nothing from me.
  - joshu 16y ago
    Your tone feels a bit hostile. Between your comments here and in the other thread, I get the sense you want to look down on me. That's ok, but I'm calling out how your interactions feel qualitatively to me. The fact that you get more upset when I pointed it out makes me suspect that my guess is correct. Anyway: You took a bunch of details about the output of a process you don't understand intimately (have you ever done an angel investment?) and guessed at what that process and mindset looks like internally. How is this not the very definition of clueless?
    - maxklein 16y ago
      That's a very strange allegation. I've been accused of many things, but "looking down on people" is not one of them. I don't look down on anyone or want to, as this goes against everything I have ever stood for. Yes, I've not done an angel investment before, but I'm not clueless. If we had a discussion about gravity, you probably don't know as much as a person who has written a few papers about gravity, but there is nothing wrong with having an opinion. I'm aware of enough material around it to have a semi-educated opinion. In any case, I rather dislike your tone. You are dismissing my opinions, because I am 'clueless' according to your definition. That's rude. I feel that you have something against me for whatever reason. Whoever or whatever influenced that, you can clear such things by email and you don't need to be so superior towards me here.
      - staunch 16y ago
        He's spent years in the industry building relationships and evaluating companies. You're comparing his entire investment strategy to a kid impulsively buying a toy. That's just not rational. It makes you sound like you have a chip on your shoulder.
        maxklein 16y ago
        That's just what his replies from the other thread make it seem like. Perhaps there is some more thorough method he goes through, but from what I recognized, it seemed very impulsive and surface. And if anyone has a chip, take a look at his first reply to this: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1356557 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1356557 I'm assuming he knows that I do iPhone apps, and when I ask a perfectly valid question he hits me with that nugget.
        joshu 16y ago
        Yep. I was tweaking you. You seem easily trolled and sensitive.
        16y ago
joshu 16y ago
BTW: No, I'm not trying to be the next Ron Conway.
- epi0Bauqu 16y ago
  I don't see why not. It seems from the outside you could.
  - jimboyoungblood 16y ago
    Aside from doing an unusually large number of deals, I don't see any resemblance between them whatsoever.
    - epi0Bauqu 16y ago
      I don't know rc, or joshu well, so I could be way off base. But it seems it's doing a large # of the right deals, and all that follows from it. He seems to be in most hot deals, and so he's now developing a personal connection with all the major angels and vcs, as well as of course all the founders of the companies he has funded. So soon he'll be able to draw on this network, and that seems to be what rc is able to do.
      - jimboyoungblood 16y ago
        joshu is not unique in that regard- there are many other angels also executing the conway shotgun strategy. The main difference is that he's doing the deals under his own name instead of setting up his own "fund".
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
  - nl 16y ago
    I thought Ashton Kutcher was the next Ron Conway...

joshu 16y ago

I meant Max was sounding adversarial. He seems very angry, anyway. Big chip on his shoulder maybe? Some of it I will divulge. Some of it I'd be happy to tell you directly someday. I should have dropped a note when I was last in Boston. My investment serves several goals. I have a bunch of markers, horizontal business types, and vertical industries by which I evaluate things like the nature of competition the startup will enter. I don't do as much due diligence, because I am following on with other investors who DO do more of this. I also feel that there's a lot less value to it at the earliest stages. I am also looking to be more connected and more present in the Valley. Consider it sowing seeds.

maxklein 16y ago
Saying I "don't have a clue" and that I want to "look down on somebody" is not very nice. I have no reason to be angry at you, do I? I don't know you. Perhaps you're not used to people telling you their honest opinion anymore. That's my opinion about your strategy from what I read in that thread - it's what I think and what I will continue to think. Sometimes you will do things that other people think is shit. Actually, most things you do, some people will think it's shit. If nobody ever tells you that, it means you are surrounded by dishonest people, or people that are afraid of offending you. I'm obviously not afraid of offending you, as I need nothing from you and you need nothing from me.
- joshu 16y ago
  Your tone feels a bit hostile. Between your comments here and in the other thread, I get the sense you want to look down on me. That's ok, but I'm calling out how your interactions feel qualitatively to me. The fact that you get more upset when I pointed it out makes me suspect that my guess is correct. Anyway: You took a bunch of details about the output of a process you don't understand intimately (have you ever done an angel investment?) and guessed at what that process and mindset looks like internally. How is this not the very definition of clueless?
  - maxklein 16y ago
    That's a very strange allegation. I've been accused of many things, but "looking down on people" is not one of them. I don't look down on anyone or want to, as this goes against everything I have ever stood for. Yes, I've not done an angel investment before, but I'm not clueless. If we had a discussion about gravity, you probably don't know as much as a person who has written a few papers about gravity, but there is nothing wrong with having an opinion. I'm aware of enough material around it to have a semi-educated opinion. In any case, I rather dislike your tone. You are dismissing my opinions, because I am 'clueless' according to your definition. That's rude. I feel that you have something against me for whatever reason. Whoever or whatever influenced that, you can clear such things by email and you don't need to be so superior towards me here.
    - staunch 16y ago
      He's spent years in the industry building relationships and evaluating companies. You're comparing his entire investment strategy to a kid impulsively buying a toy. That's just not rational. It makes you sound like you have a chip on your shoulder.
      - maxklein 16y ago
        That's just what his replies from the other thread make it seem like. Perhaps there is some more thorough method he goes through, but from what I recognized, it seemed very impulsive and surface. And if anyone has a chip, take a look at his first reply to this: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1356557 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1356557 I'm assuming he knows that I do iPhone apps, and when I ask a perfectly valid question he hits me with that nugget.
        joshu 16y ago
        Yep. I was tweaking you. You seem easily trolled and sensitive.
        16y ago

joshu 16y ago

BTW: No, I'm not trying to be the next Ron Conway.

epi0Bauqu 16y ago
I don't see why not. It seems from the outside you could.
- jimboyoungblood 16y ago
  Aside from doing an unusually large number of deals, I don't see any resemblance between them whatsoever.
  - epi0Bauqu 16y ago
    I don't know rc, or joshu well, so I could be way off base. But it seems it's doing a large # of the right deals, and all that follows from it. He seems to be in most hot deals, and so he's now developing a personal connection with all the major angels and vcs, as well as of course all the founders of the companies he has funded. So soon he'll be able to draw on this network, and that seems to be what rc is able to do.
    - jimboyoungblood 16y ago
      joshu is not unique in that regard- there are many other angels also executing the conway shotgun strategy. The main difference is that he's doing the deals under his own name instead of setting up his own "fund".
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
- nl 16y ago
  I thought Ashton Kutcher was the next Ron Conway...