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I was fortunate enough to have avoided disaster with another Ponzi scheme in the early days of the Internet. This particular individual had invested in a compa

I was fortunate enough to have avoided disaster with another Ponzi scheme in the early days of the Internet. This particular individual had invested in a company I'd helped start which went on to be quite successful - but my hackles were raised by a few meetings such that I avoided investing with him. Which, on the one hand sucked - because it meant I was shut out of having a whirlwind success with the one company in his portfolio that was legit - the one I'd helped start. But on the other hand, the relief I felt at not having to deal with the Feds over this guy was huge. Since then, its been amazing to me just how much crooked behaviour goes on with tech investments. I've managed to avoid further entanglements with Ponzi-style schemes in the decade since, but I'll never forget this one guys' pure sleaziness, how it raised my alarm bells, and yet how others saw it as competence and genius. If only I'd had the temerity to differentiate between the one good thing (which I had agency over) and all the crud, I'm quite sure I'd be worth millions more today ..

blunderkid 7y ago
Care to spare some details? Your first hand experience even without the names can be most useful/interesting for HN types.
- fit2rule 7y ago
  Well, the nature of the business is that I'd really rather not discuss it, but its enough to say that in the heigh-day of the Internet bubble, late 80's/early-90's, there was a lot of Ponzi going on, around the bandwidth providers. If you look at it, the way the Internet was constructed back then is kind of Ponzi, only back then we called it 'over-subscription' ...
  - blunderkid 7y ago
    I recall a case study about the telecom industry and how it was a race to the bottom laying undersea cables and then the bubble burst. But that assessment was in hindsight. I guess a distinction needs to be made between a "bubble" which is a part of the market economy, and what can be called a "ponzi scheme" which is malicious from the very beginning.

blunderkid 7y ago

Care to spare some details? Your first hand experience even without the names can be most useful/interesting for HN types.

fit2rule 7y ago
Well, the nature of the business is that I'd really rather not discuss it, but its enough to say that in the heigh-day of the Internet bubble, late 80's/early-90's, there was a lot of Ponzi going on, around the bandwidth providers. If you look at it, the way the Internet was constructed back then is kind of Ponzi, only back then we called it 'over-subscription' ...
- blunderkid 7y ago
  I recall a case study about the telecom industry and how it was a race to the bottom laying undersea cables and then the bubble burst. But that assessment was in hindsight. I guess a distinction needs to be made between a "bubble" which is a part of the market economy, and what can be called a "ponzi scheme" which is malicious from the very beginning.