6 ms·

The startup failure of Oomba

60 points by prostoalex 6y ago

pnathan 6y ago
The lack of accountability and governance by investors is fascinating and confusing to me. If I was investing meaningful portions of my savings, I would read every single document and maintain careful diligence on how the firm & executive team was performing. It also seems, from reading HN, that quality investment firms do that as well. So, I wonder if it was more of a con job setup where the investors were played for marks...
- lotsofpulp 6y ago
  Maybe the investors themselves knew it was a con job and were hoping to offload it onto other marks.
- edmundsauto 6y ago
  In many cases, it’s not their money. I also think success can breed a mindset where people trust their first impressions. Then, because they are busy, they rely even more on that gut check. Humans regularly overestimate what they know, and how well they can project people’s behavior forward.
  - DLay 6y ago
    Masayoshi Son seems to be a prime example of this, from what I’ve read.
- prostoalex 6y ago
  Notice the lack of the brand-name investment firms, or even a prominent angel. They don't name many names, but this seems indicative of the investor profile Oomba was after > Around 20 members of the golf club invested. Several brought in family and other friends. The finance guy got his ex-wife involved. Some people didn’t have the savings necessary to be accredited investors, but Williams helped “fudge” the paperwork, as one person put it.
  - pnathan 6y ago
    I did catch that... but.... I am sure that there's a whole number of investments that aren't brand-name that take place. But, then it made me wonder about the con-jobbiness of it all. Targeting unsophisticated investors, seems like.
    - icedchai 6y ago
      Sure, but if they're not accredited, they don't have much money to invest. "Accredited" is a relatively low bar for anyone thinking about putting money into a private company. He'd need a lot more than 20 of those guys to raise $35+ million.
- deleted 6y ago
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- deleted 6y ago
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ku-man 6y ago
Wonder how many victims of sexual harassment were actually like the girl in the story. If I learnt something in life is that you should trust women less than men.
volkk 6y ago
this was fascinating to read. a tale of utter manipulation. i've read startup failures with grandiose dreams and insane founders, but this one really tops the charts for me.
TheAdamist 6y ago
Was Oomba even supposed to be a real company? The name sounds like it was trying to confuse people into thinking it was Ooma. (The phone services company?
- icedchai 6y ago
  It's real. You can find the former CEO on LinkedIn.
blackrock 6y ago
> was allegedly dating three employees at a time LOL. He never heard of the saying: "Don't dip your pen in the company ink." There are easier places to get that ink, that doesn't create a "conflict of interests" risk.
sayhar 6y ago
Seems like this was removed from the front page? Why might that be?
dyeje 6y ago
Wow. Absolutely bonkers story, can't believe the investment company kept shoveling money into it after the coup.
treeple 6y ago
If you find yourself feeling a sense of smugness when reading this kind of stuff, perhaps it's time to evaluate your own insecurities. I so want to believe that someday the rubbernecking at failed startups will wear off. Whenever I see these articles, my first thought is always "who cares?" It's no secret that startup founders are an odd bunch in general who want to succeed at all costs, and then we're surprised when some small % of them end up making up BS and getting caught? Small-time scams are happening constantly all over the world, it simply isn't interesting. But I guess a fancy webpage and graphics can make it seem interesting. The Verge seems to really love this stuff. I was a long-time reader before they started diving headlong into hit pieces on startups because they realized it was good clickbait. Blah blah public interest, but most of the companies they do hit pieces on hadn't even lasted long enough to make any market impact whatsoever. I haven't heard of Oomba, I bet you haven't either, and I bet you couldn't find 5 friends who had. Might be time to read the story of Apple's very first deal, and imagine a blogging/clickbait environment that tore down Jobs as a result. Talk is cheap.

60 points by prostoalex 6y ago

The lack of accountability and governance by investors is fascinating and confusing to me. If I was investing meaningful portions of my savings, I would read every single document and maintain careful diligence on how the firm & executive team was performing. It also seems, from reading HN, that quality investment firms do that as well. So, I wonder if it was more of a con job setup where the investors were played for marks...

lotsofpulp 6y ago
Maybe the investors themselves knew it was a con job and were hoping to offload it onto other marks.
edmundsauto 6y ago
In many cases, it’s not their money. I also think success can breed a mindset where people trust their first impressions. Then, because they are busy, they rely even more on that gut check. Humans regularly overestimate what they know, and how well they can project people’s behavior forward.
- DLay 6y ago
  Masayoshi Son seems to be a prime example of this, from what I’ve read.
prostoalex 6y ago
Notice the lack of the brand-name investment firms, or even a prominent angel. They don't name many names, but this seems indicative of the investor profile Oomba was after > Around 20 members of the golf club invested. Several brought in family and other friends. The finance guy got his ex-wife involved. Some people didn’t have the savings necessary to be accredited investors, but Williams helped “fudge” the paperwork, as one person put it.
- pnathan 6y ago
  I did catch that... but.... I am sure that there's a whole number of investments that aren't brand-name that take place. But, then it made me wonder about the con-jobbiness of it all. Targeting unsophisticated investors, seems like.
  - icedchai 6y ago
    Sure, but if they're not accredited, they don't have much money to invest. "Accredited" is a relatively low bar for anyone thinking about putting money into a private company. He'd need a lot more than 20 of those guys to raise $35+ million.
deleted 6y ago
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deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

ku-man 6y ago

Wonder how many victims of sexual harassment were actually like the girl in the story. If I learnt something in life is that you should trust women less than men.

volkk 6y ago

this was fascinating to read. a tale of utter manipulation. i've read startup failures with grandiose dreams and insane founders, but this one really tops the charts for me.

TheAdamist 6y ago

Was Oomba even supposed to be a real company? The name sounds like it was trying to confuse people into thinking it was Ooma. (The phone services company?

icedchai 6y ago
It's real. You can find the former CEO on LinkedIn.

blackrock 6y ago

> was allegedly dating three employees at a time LOL. He never heard of the saying: "Don't dip your pen in the company ink." There are easier places to get that ink, that doesn't create a "conflict of interests" risk.

sayhar 6y ago

Seems like this was removed from the front page? Why might that be?

dyeje 6y ago

Wow. Absolutely bonkers story, can't believe the investment company kept shoveling money into it after the coup.

treeple 6y ago

If you find yourself feeling a sense of smugness when reading this kind of stuff, perhaps it's time to evaluate your own insecurities. I so want to believe that someday the rubbernecking at failed startups will wear off. Whenever I see these articles, my first thought is always "who cares?" It's no secret that startup founders are an odd bunch in general who want to succeed at all costs, and then we're surprised when some small % of them end up making up BS and getting caught? Small-time scams are happening constantly all over the world, it simply isn't interesting. But I guess a fancy webpage and graphics can make it seem interesting. The Verge seems to really love this stuff. I was a long-time reader before they started diving headlong into hit pieces on startups because they realized it was good clickbait. Blah blah public interest, but most of the companies they do hit pieces on hadn't even lasted long enough to make any market impact whatsoever. I haven't heard of Oomba, I bet you haven't either, and I bet you couldn't find 5 friends who had. Might be time to read the story of Apple's very first deal, and imagine a blogging/clickbait environment that tore down Jobs as a result. Talk is cheap.