4 ms·

How Jack Dorsey used Square to con VCs

19 points by quant 16y ago

cmgarcia 16y ago
What a badass.
mattcurry 16y ago
I don't see any "con" here, just a great demo.
- stanleydrew 16y ago
  Yeah, the title is tongue-in-cheek I'm pretty sure.
ashbrahma 16y ago
Misleading title!!
edw519 16y ago
And I loved this because I would go around to all these angel investors and VCs and charge them $5 or $50 to show them my new idea. Great litmus test. Anyone willing to pay to see an idea is probably too naive to be a dependable business partner.
- pg 16y ago
  Not really. It's a trivial amount, and it would seem rude to refuse.
  - petervandijck 16y ago
    Wouldn't it seem much ruder to ask? Or not if you're Jack Dorsey?
    - PostOnce 16y ago
      I almost said the same thing, then I thought, I guess it depends on your attitude when you ask. Could be a playful thing. So I cancelled my comment. If he came off as rude, they never would have paid him, and this wouldn't be a story.
hyperbovine 16y ago
Either Jack Dorsey is a con man, or VC's could care less about losing $5 to $50.
joshfinnie 16y ago
It is sad that this got 13 upvotes so far. It is scary that this is on the front page of hacker news... the main quote is obviously tongue-in-cheek.
- flardinois 16y ago
  and he's been telling the same story for as long as Square has existed...
- dmix 16y ago
  The video is far more relevant and interesting. I propose: "Square founder Jack Dorsey's talk at Standford (video)"
  - joshfinnie 16y ago
    I will have to watch the video once I can (blocked at work). Thanks for the info!
camtarn 16y ago
The Square card reader is an amazing device. I do wish my Android phone had the equivalent of a dock connector to allow higher powered accessories, but barring that I'm really excited about the potential of using the phone's audio jack for power and signalling. This one's been linked on HN before, but if anyone hasn't seen it: http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/01/project-hijack-uses-iphone-audio-jack-to-make-cheap-sensors.ars http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/01/project-hijack-use...

19 points by quant 16y ago

cmgarcia 16y ago

What a badass.

mattcurry 16y ago

I don't see any "con" here, just a great demo.

stanleydrew 16y ago
Yeah, the title is tongue-in-cheek I'm pretty sure.

ashbrahma 16y ago

Misleading title!!

edw519 16y ago

And I loved this because I would go around to all these angel investors and VCs and charge them $5 or $50 to show them my new idea. Great litmus test. Anyone willing to pay to see an idea is probably too naive to be a dependable business partner.

pg 16y ago
Not really. It's a trivial amount, and it would seem rude to refuse.
- petervandijck 16y ago
  Wouldn't it seem much ruder to ask? Or not if you're Jack Dorsey?
  - PostOnce 16y ago
    I almost said the same thing, then I thought, I guess it depends on your attitude when you ask. Could be a playful thing. So I cancelled my comment. If he came off as rude, they never would have paid him, and this wouldn't be a story.

hyperbovine 16y ago

Either Jack Dorsey is a con man, or VC's could care less about losing $5 to $50.

joshfinnie 16y ago

It is sad that this got 13 upvotes so far. It is scary that this is on the front page of hacker news... the main quote is obviously tongue-in-cheek.

flardinois 16y ago
and he's been telling the same story for as long as Square has existed...
dmix 16y ago
The video is far more relevant and interesting. I propose: "Square founder Jack Dorsey's talk at Standford (video)"
- joshfinnie 16y ago
  I will have to watch the video once I can (blocked at work). Thanks for the info!

camtarn 16y ago

The Square card reader is an amazing device. I do wish my Android phone had the equivalent of a dock connector to allow higher powered accessories, but barring that I'm really excited about the potential of using the phone's audio jack for power and signalling. This one's been linked on HN before, but if anyone hasn't seen it: http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/01/project-hijack-uses-iphone-audio-jack-to-make-cheap-sensors.ars http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/01/project-hijack-use...