This comment is very sightly off-topic for this story, but 100% on topic for HN, and so many people might find it useful that I feel compelled to write it. The

This comment is very sightly off-topic for this story, but 100% on topic for HN, and so many people might find it useful that I feel compelled to write it. The first link in this write-up is to this story which gives the background: https://theoutline.com/post/1953/how-a-vc-funded-company-is-undermining-the-open-source-community And I wanted to draw attention to something remarkable from that write-up. Without any irony, completely straight-faced, the writer nonchalantly included the line: >Although Kite has no business model yet, it’s widely >thought in Silicon Valley that having users is the >first step toward profitability. The article had introduced the startup as: >a $4 million venture capital-funded startup That's not a valuation but the size of the round.¹ The title and subtitle of the article are: > How a VC-funded company is undermining the open-source community and: >A San Francisco startup called Kite is being accused >of underhanded tactics. Now what I wanted to bring attention to in this comment is the fact that it is possible to nonchalantly mention that a startup has no business model, and is a $4 million VC-backed business, but this tells you nothing about the startup: except that it is based in Silicon Valley/San Francisco. I really want to emphasize this geography to you, because people here are skeptical. We had a recent article here on "Ways a VC says no without saying no". One person wrote ², in complete denial: >a few years ago when trying to raise a Series A. We >were getting the "location" excuse over and over. It >usually went something like, "we love what you are >doing, and we would probably invest in you, but your >location is a non-starter for us." The truth, as was >illuminated to me during, is that they just aren't >interested. If you were a compelling enough business for >the investor, your location would not be a factor. If >you can prove that you are succeeding in your location, >then the location obviously isn't an issue. VC after VC after VC mentioned the exact words "your location is a non-starter" but this person is in denial. I wanted to use this story to illustrate that you do not even need a business model in order to raise money in Silicon Valley/San Francisco. It is there in black and white and without comment, mentioned off-hand in a story about something different. Memorize these fourteen words. Memorize these words now: "A San Francisco startup"; "$4 million venture capital-funded"; "has no business model yet." Just memorize it. It is the difference between the success and failure of your startup and if you read this comment carefully and take it to heart, this comment can become the most important one you will have read in the past five years. ¹ https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/kite-com https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/kite-com ² https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14815785 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14815785