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My paraphrased short version: Ron Conway to the super-angels: I'm in this game because I love seeing entrepreneurs build cool stuff. You guys aren't. Stop worr

My paraphrased short version: Ron Conway to the super-angels: I'm in this game because I love seeing entrepreneurs build cool stuff. You guys aren't. Stop worrying about term sheets and valuations and worry about adding value beyond cash. I've wanted to say this for a long time, but have bit my lip in your presence. I no longer want to be involved with any of you. And Dave McClure, quit being a classless embarrassment to Silicon Valley.

waterlesscloud 16y ago
If nothing else, it confirms Arrington's characterization of the purpose of the meeting.
credo 16y ago
That is a good summary. However, I'm surprised that so many other comments talk about Conway rocking, being a great individual etc. When I read his email, my thought was that the email was a great image-building propaganda tool and that he wrote it with the knowledge that the email would be made public. His email talks how great he is, how he loves entrepreneurs and how other investors are in it for self-serving factors like ego and money. Of course, I have no way of knowing whether that is true or not. However, I'm willing to bet that many unscrupulous investors could easily write a similar email.
- adammichaelc 16y ago
  I would have similar doubts about Conway's authenticity here except that doesn't fit with what I've heard pretty much everywhere else about the kind of person he is to do deals with and work with. Maybe he wouldn't have written that email if this story hadn't been aired. Maybe he would have. But the email fits with his past actions, so to me it doesn't matter. My guess is that he knew the email would be aired, and he wrote it to entrepreneurs as much as to the super-angels. His brand is all about trust-with-entrepreneurs, and if he loses that his deal-flow gets severely cut down. To solidify that trust, he publicly threw down the line in the sand and said, "I'm on the entrepreneur's side. Always. I'm even willing to give up friendships / partnerships with these other investors to prove that loyalty."
- jfornear 16y ago
  If Conway or any other 'Superangel' or whatever doesn't go public with some sort of response like this, everyone will just assume they were there, which will be bad for their image in itself.
- pg 16y ago
  Ron would not do that. First, he's not the sort of person who would write an email hoping it would be leaked. If he has something to say, he just says it. But also, if he'd written this to be leaked, it wouldn't sound like this; he wouldn't have said some of the things he did, and he would have showed it to his posse, who would have fixed the misspelling of "entrepreneur." I suspect he is mortified this got out. It must have been leaked by one of the super-angels themselves. Which is a little surprising, considering the things it says about them. There must be at least one super-angel so eager for attention that he believes there's no such thing as bad publicity.
  - tomjen3 16y ago
    Either that, or one of the super angles are staying inside exactly so that he can leak this and work against the conspiracy.
    - ericb 16y ago
      Were I interested in identifying the leak, I'd send an email with faked headers that looked like it went to everyone, but actually send each person a version that is subtly different--a misspelling of a word, or a variation in white space, or punctuation. Then, I'd wait to see which appeared on TC.
      - noodle 16y ago
        with the consistent misspelling of "entrepreneur", this just hit a new level of entertaining. i wonder if an angel in the group just funded the moonraker laser.
  - davemc500hats 16y ago
    hope you're not talking about me Paul. I didn't leak ron's email, and I've been consistently public about this from the beginning. the issue here isn't collusion, it's convertible notes. your post on hi-def investing captures it perfectly, and some investor are likely not comfortable with that. however I agree with you, and conv notes are definitely the future of early-stage investing... angelgate sensationalism or not, that's the core issue here.
- jfb 16y ago
  That strikes me as a difficult theory to credit, based on my interactions with Conway, to say nothing of his reputation. He's the straightest of the straight shooters.

waterlesscloud 16y ago

If nothing else, it confirms Arrington's characterization of the purpose of the meeting.

credo 16y ago

That is a good summary. However, I'm surprised that so many other comments talk about Conway rocking, being a great individual etc. When I read his email, my thought was that the email was a great image-building propaganda tool and that he wrote it with the knowledge that the email would be made public. His email talks how great he is, how he loves entrepreneurs and how other investors are in it for self-serving factors like ego and money. Of course, I have no way of knowing whether that is true or not. However, I'm willing to bet that many unscrupulous investors could easily write a similar email.

adammichaelc 16y ago
I would have similar doubts about Conway's authenticity here except that doesn't fit with what I've heard pretty much everywhere else about the kind of person he is to do deals with and work with. Maybe he wouldn't have written that email if this story hadn't been aired. Maybe he would have. But the email fits with his past actions, so to me it doesn't matter. My guess is that he knew the email would be aired, and he wrote it to entrepreneurs as much as to the super-angels. His brand is all about trust-with-entrepreneurs, and if he loses that his deal-flow gets severely cut down. To solidify that trust, he publicly threw down the line in the sand and said, "I'm on the entrepreneur's side. Always. I'm even willing to give up friendships / partnerships with these other investors to prove that loyalty."
jfornear 16y ago
If Conway or any other 'Superangel' or whatever doesn't go public with some sort of response like this, everyone will just assume they were there, which will be bad for their image in itself.
pg 16y ago
Ron would not do that. First, he's not the sort of person who would write an email hoping it would be leaked. If he has something to say, he just says it. But also, if he'd written this to be leaked, it wouldn't sound like this; he wouldn't have said some of the things he did, and he would have showed it to his posse, who would have fixed the misspelling of "entrepreneur." I suspect he is mortified this got out. It must have been leaked by one of the super-angels themselves. Which is a little surprising, considering the things it says about them. There must be at least one super-angel so eager for attention that he believes there's no such thing as bad publicity.
- tomjen3 16y ago
  Either that, or one of the super angles are staying inside exactly so that he can leak this and work against the conspiracy.
  - ericb 16y ago
    Were I interested in identifying the leak, I'd send an email with faked headers that looked like it went to everyone, but actually send each person a version that is subtly different--a misspelling of a word, or a variation in white space, or punctuation. Then, I'd wait to see which appeared on TC.
    - noodle 16y ago
      with the consistent misspelling of "entrepreneur", this just hit a new level of entertaining. i wonder if an angel in the group just funded the moonraker laser.
- davemc500hats 16y ago
  hope you're not talking about me Paul. I didn't leak ron's email, and I've been consistently public about this from the beginning. the issue here isn't collusion, it's convertible notes. your post on hi-def investing captures it perfectly, and some investor are likely not comfortable with that. however I agree with you, and conv notes are definitely the future of early-stage investing... angelgate sensationalism or not, that's the core issue here.
jfb 16y ago
That strikes me as a difficult theory to credit, based on my interactions with Conway, to say nothing of his reputation. He's the straightest of the straight shooters.