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Good luck finding deals off of Angel List, because those deals will be in companies run by very stupid entrepreneurs. If you’re an entrepreneur you’re going to

by wensing 16y ago

Good luck finding deals off of Angel List, because those deals will be in companies run by very stupid entrepreneurs. If you’re an entrepreneur you’re going to embrace Angel List because that’s where the passionate, low-return driven money is. Are you saying that if a startup would rather take money from someone like OATV then they are stupid entrepreneurs? Good luck playing with your ball in that backyard with mommy. The rest of us are going to Naval’s playground. Am I correct to think that Naval does an initial screen of applicants before sending them on to members of the list? If so, aren't you trusting Naval's selection bias / pattern matching? What if you don't want that as an investor?

jasonmcalacanis 16y ago
1. I think if you are an entrepreneur and you skip angel list that you are stupid. Not sure how you make the logic jump from that statement over to "taking money from OATV makes you stupid." Obviously OATV is a fine firm, and taking money from them is great. It's ignoring Angel List that would be stupid. And certainly it's stupid for OATV to ignore/block out angel list... that's sort of the point of my calling out Bryce. Who in their right mind would block a potential deal and information source!??!!? That's just idiotic... and I know Bryce isn't an idiot. Thus my conclusion that Bryce is grandstanding for attention..... mission accomplished! 2. Naval does a light screen and "short circulation" from what i understand. This means he'll send a deal to < 10 folks to see if it's get traction before blasting everyone. So, it's sort of two-layer filtering I guess. You won't see bad, or un-fundable, companies on angel list. However, you will see a range of weak to strong ones.
- wensing 16y ago
  Thanks for the response. I think if you are an entrepreneur and you skip angel list that you are stupid. Not sure how you make the logic jump from that statement over to "taking money from OATV makes you stupid." I should have clarified: some entrepreneurs may fail to raise money from AngelList but that doesn't mean they can't or shouldn't try to raise money elsewhere and it also doesn't mean they won't ultimately succeed. Also, a startup may have an awesome team or product but without social proof they will likely fare better applying to YC/TechStars/incubator than AL.
- fedd 16y ago
  2. that's the difference. i know a company that was screened off from both angel list (almost a year ago when it was not that hot) and open angel forum, but it is definitely good and fundable. so looks like only people who take decisions by themselves, not relying on an opinion of a crowd, would win that deal ;)

by wensing 16y ago

jasonmcalacanis 16y ago

1. I think if you are an entrepreneur and you skip angel list that you are stupid. Not sure how you make the logic jump from that statement over to "taking money from OATV makes you stupid." Obviously OATV is a fine firm, and taking money from them is great. It's ignoring Angel List that would be stupid. And certainly it's stupid for OATV to ignore/block out angel list... that's sort of the point of my calling out Bryce. Who in their right mind would block a potential deal and information source!??!!? That's just idiotic... and I know Bryce isn't an idiot. Thus my conclusion that Bryce is grandstanding for attention..... mission accomplished! 2. Naval does a light screen and "short circulation" from what i understand. This means he'll send a deal to < 10 folks to see if it's get traction before blasting everyone. So, it's sort of two-layer filtering I guess. You won't see bad, or un-fundable, companies on angel list. However, you will see a range of weak to strong ones.

wensing 16y ago
Thanks for the response. I think if you are an entrepreneur and you skip angel list that you are stupid. Not sure how you make the logic jump from that statement over to "taking money from OATV makes you stupid." I should have clarified: some entrepreneurs may fail to raise money from AngelList but that doesn't mean they can't or shouldn't try to raise money elsewhere and it also doesn't mean they won't ultimately succeed. Also, a startup may have an awesome team or product but without social proof they will likely fare better applying to YC/TechStars/incubator than AL.
fedd 16y ago
2. that's the difference. i know a company that was screened off from both angel list (almost a year ago when it was not that hot) and open angel forum, but it is definitely good and fundable. so looks like only people who take decisions by themselves, not relying on an opinion of a crowd, would win that deal ;)