4 ms·

What could they have done differently to make the donation unquestionably legal and morally sound (while still maximizing their personal benefit)? Does the comp

• smallgovt 10y ago
  I think this is the most interesting question in the thread. When viewed as a donation of services instead of cash, he's simply giving his product away for free in order to collect data to improve his product. In its own right, I'd argue that certainly should be considered charity and deserving of praise. The questionable part about this transaction seems to pertain to the tax deductions taken. However, it strikes me as unlikely that the loss on the donation withstanding any reasonable tax deduction would be covered by any personal payback on the donation.
  • mcguire 10y ago
    Tax deductions and possibly accounting fraud.
  • x0x0 10y ago
    It's less tax deductions (though those should be questioned!) and more using this to deceive investors into his company.
• gnicholas 10y ago
  The company could have donated the services, but that wouldn't have had the same impact. The donor got a big tax deduction, which then translated into revenue and data collection for his company. If the company had simply donated the services, it wouldn't have looked like they got a big contract. They also wouldn't have gotten the cash infusion, from the founder and funneled through the university.