4 ms·

What baffles me is that someone who basically flopped is made a partner in a YC. [Edit:] Oh, I see. In the SV land driving a company into the ground is a win!

FreakyT 9y ago
I would think someone who has founded a company that failed would have learned quite a few worthwhile lessons to teach to up-and-coming startups, no?
- notyourday 9y ago
  When you are shopping for a legal adviser do you go with the one who lost his biggest case? The premise is the same: he lost so he can teach quite a few lessons that he learned while losing. How about this? Would you hire a football player that made it to the national team but performed horrible (and was fired by the manager) on that stage as a coach for your team - the one with the aspiration for Champions league? How about a doctor? Would you go to the one whose patients died vs. the one whose have not? Why is it different for VC partners?
  - CosmicShadow 9y ago
    You can probably know very well why you lost, but you can't know for sure at all why you won. Startup founder at conference: "By the following lotto numbers to repeat my success!" A dude who had to take a hardware company through all the shit required from the bottom up into a time where now people can finally actually start doing hardware companies is going to know so much about how to help companies in ALL regards, dude was one of the most successful trailblazers, even if the trail died out. Hardware is fucking hard from every aspect and he knows about every aspect, that's why people will want his help.
  - marrs 9y ago
    I'm not disagreeing with your point, but your analogy isn't good. The best heart surgeons actually are the ones with the highest failure rates because they are the only ones prepared to take on the riskiest operations. I would imagine this is also true of the best lawyers.
    - notyourday 9y ago
      I think it is. His failure rate is 100% of the single attempt he made. Someone investing into US treasury would have made more money than they made giving him money. That's the only objective way that we currently have to establish a success or a failure of a company executive and his or her knowledge and smarts.
tonyjstark 9y ago
This baffles me too, especially when reading that he didn't had a long term vision all these years. That is not only textbook bad but very irresponsible. Same for the argument that there was a ton of learnings when Pebble failed. Yes, maybe but how is that relevant to other startups? Even for the hardware space, if someone seemingly never managed to get the production pipeline going and never had a vision for the products, how much worth is the advice then? Failing fast and often is not applicable here. Heck, I got a more or less failed startup, I probably can tell you some stuff but definitely not, how everything works or how to be successful. SV is a strange place. It feels, it's more important how much money you have (raised) then how successful your company was/is.
desireco42 9y ago
I am so glad you wrote this, as I was thinking the same thing. I am big fan of Pebble and it still has loyal following. Botching that, no matter Apple and others, is really not something that would recommend someone.
nerfhammer 9y ago
It's not about winning or losing, it's about the friends you make along the way. Important friends, ones who will take your call, as many of those as you can get.
mlazos 9y ago
Yeah this is exactly what I was thinking as well. I feel like there are enough successful startups that there would probably be better candidates. I know HW is hard but it seems weird they picked him when their sell-off for $40 million barely covered their debt.

FreakyT 9y ago

I would think someone who has founded a company that failed would have learned quite a few worthwhile lessons to teach to up-and-coming startups, no?

notyourday 9y ago
When you are shopping for a legal adviser do you go with the one who lost his biggest case? The premise is the same: he lost so he can teach quite a few lessons that he learned while losing. How about this? Would you hire a football player that made it to the national team but performed horrible (and was fired by the manager) on that stage as a coach for your team - the one with the aspiration for Champions league? How about a doctor? Would you go to the one whose patients died vs. the one whose have not? Why is it different for VC partners?
- CosmicShadow 9y ago
  You can probably know very well why you lost, but you can't know for sure at all why you won. Startup founder at conference: "By the following lotto numbers to repeat my success!" A dude who had to take a hardware company through all the shit required from the bottom up into a time where now people can finally actually start doing hardware companies is going to know so much about how to help companies in ALL regards, dude was one of the most successful trailblazers, even if the trail died out. Hardware is fucking hard from every aspect and he knows about every aspect, that's why people will want his help.
- marrs 9y ago
  I'm not disagreeing with your point, but your analogy isn't good. The best heart surgeons actually are the ones with the highest failure rates because they are the only ones prepared to take on the riskiest operations. I would imagine this is also true of the best lawyers.
  - notyourday 9y ago
    I think it is. His failure rate is 100% of the single attempt he made. Someone investing into US treasury would have made more money than they made giving him money. That's the only objective way that we currently have to establish a success or a failure of a company executive and his or her knowledge and smarts.

tonyjstark 9y ago

This baffles me too, especially when reading that he didn't had a long term vision all these years. That is not only textbook bad but very irresponsible. Same for the argument that there was a ton of learnings when Pebble failed. Yes, maybe but how is that relevant to other startups? Even for the hardware space, if someone seemingly never managed to get the production pipeline going and never had a vision for the products, how much worth is the advice then? Failing fast and often is not applicable here. Heck, I got a more or less failed startup, I probably can tell you some stuff but definitely not, how everything works or how to be successful. SV is a strange place. It feels, it's more important how much money you have (raised) then how successful your company was/is.

desireco42 9y ago

I am so glad you wrote this, as I was thinking the same thing. I am big fan of Pebble and it still has loyal following. Botching that, no matter Apple and others, is really not something that would recommend someone.

nerfhammer 9y ago

It's not about winning or losing, it's about the friends you make along the way. Important friends, ones who will take your call, as many of those as you can get.

mlazos 9y ago

Yeah this is exactly what I was thinking as well. I feel like there are enough successful startups that there would probably be better candidates. I know HW is hard but it seems weird they picked him when their sell-off for $40 million barely covered their debt.