4 ms·

It's a decent list, however, it's a red flag if my Twitter account isn't up to date and or if it's non-existent? Better spec that I own an iPhone and use Fours

by shingen 15y ago

It's a decent list, however, it's a red flag if my Twitter account isn't up to date and or if it's non-existent? Better spec that I own an iPhone and use Foursquare while you're making a list of obnoxious requirements. Uh oh, I don't even have a Pinterest account yet! The proper response to an angel that red flags on something like that is: sorry, I'm too busy doing actual work to worry about whether my Twitter account is existent and up-to-date, I'm going to pass on allowing you to invest into my company.

epi0Bauqu 15y ago
For the record, I don't own an iPhone and don't have a Pinterest account either (though I'm guessing you were being snarky there). However, at the seed stage you're investing in people and a quick way to start finding out about people is through their online profiles. So no, you don't need those things, but it makes it quicker to learn about you. Also, on a higher level, if you're doing an Internet startup I would expect you would be trying out and engaging in various Internet services. If not Twitter, than something. That said, and as I linked to in the post (http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2010/10/pitch-decks-are-missing-a-key-ingredient-history.html http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2010/10/pitch-decks-are-...), I think conveying personal history in one way or another is very important.
- shingen 15y ago
  There's a big difference as a developer, between knowing all about Twitter, it's platform and APIs, having used Twitter accounts enough --- and worrying about whether I've got my personal Twitter account up-to-date. I don't have the time to tweet several dozen times per day (what it would really take to learn anything meaningful about me @140 characters a shot). Period. It's not worth the time trade. Should I be tweeting so I can have a couple thousand followers (half of which are literally worthless)? Or should I be throwing that hour a day into my business? I could give you a simple bio that would be far more concise and useful than what you could possibly extract from Twitter postings. And, you don't like wasting your time either: if you have to scan my Twitter posts to compile a picture of me, you're going to waste a huge amount of time I could save you with that simple bio.
  - fredsters_s 15y ago
    I agree with your sentiments, but here's the difference: you could write anything in a bio. And in a CV. That's why socially verifiable information is always preferred. When trying to get an idea of what someone is like, flicking through their Twitter / LinkedIn / HN posts is far more informative and reliable (and quicker) than reading a bunch of prose they wrote about themselves.
    - rayhano 15y ago
      But this all mostly a box to be ticked, to verify whether a conversation needs to be had...
    - shingen 15y ago
      Obviously you could write anything on a Twitter feed. People embellish the hell out of their LinkedIn profiles, just like they might a resume. I don't believe Twitter qualifies as a valuable form of due diligence for an investor. Should Zuckerberg be worried about what Wall Street thinks of his Twitter account? One post in three years probably implies he just isn't with the times. https://twitter.com/#!/finkd https://twitter.com/#!/finkd It's not looking good for Zuck. You know what's a lot more reliable than me tweeting about Whitney Houston's death? The product I create and show you. Brass tacks. The rest is a superficial sideshow.
      - fredsters_s 15y ago
        Are you equating a cold-calling investment prospect with Mark Zuckerberg? I don't believe Twitter qualifies as a valuable form of due diligence for an investor No disrespect, but you're belief is incorrect. Anything and everything about you online is used when doing DD. Of course, if your product is fucking awesome, then the fact that your Twitter stream is empty is irrelevant. But if your product is fucking awesome, you aren't cold-calling VCs. VCs are cold-calling you.
        tatsuke95 15y ago
        >"Anything and everything about you online is used when doing DD." Having what, for all intents and purposes, is an employer judge - or worse yet misjudge- me based on my interests, or the articles I read is precisely the reason I'm moving away the merger of my online/offline lives. I recently put my money where my mouth is and deleted my Facebook account. >"However, at the seed stage you're investing in people" This always sounds like horseshit to me. Can some one point to some good examples where this model has been truly successful? Why aren't VCs actively recruiting college campuses, then? It seems like you're missing out on a huge chunk of great candidates if you're always selecting "people" from a small subset who are seeking funding for their (possibly terrible) technology startup.
sskates 15y ago
I think people in this thread are reading too much into his list of requirements. He's telling you some of the details you can get right that will help him to decide to invest in you, and you're taking them literally. I don't use twitter, but I don't think he'd hold it against me if I were asking for his investment. He just wants an easy way to look at my online presence, so something like a blog/stackoverflow/HN account/github/Facebook would be helpful too.

by shingen 15y ago

epi0Bauqu 15y ago

For the record, I don't own an iPhone and don't have a Pinterest account either (though I'm guessing you were being snarky there). However, at the seed stage you're investing in people and a quick way to start finding out about people is through their online profiles. So no, you don't need those things, but it makes it quicker to learn about you. Also, on a higher level, if you're doing an Internet startup I would expect you would be trying out and engaging in various Internet services. If not Twitter, than something. That said, and as I linked to in the post (http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2010/10/pitch-decks-are-missing-a-key-ingredient-history.html http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2010/10/pitch-decks-are-...), I think conveying personal history in one way or another is very important.

shingen 15y ago
There's a big difference as a developer, between knowing all about Twitter, it's platform and APIs, having used Twitter accounts enough --- and worrying about whether I've got my personal Twitter account up-to-date. I don't have the time to tweet several dozen times per day (what it would really take to learn anything meaningful about me @140 characters a shot). Period. It's not worth the time trade. Should I be tweeting so I can have a couple thousand followers (half of which are literally worthless)? Or should I be throwing that hour a day into my business? I could give you a simple bio that would be far more concise and useful than what you could possibly extract from Twitter postings. And, you don't like wasting your time either: if you have to scan my Twitter posts to compile a picture of me, you're going to waste a huge amount of time I could save you with that simple bio.
- fredsters_s 15y ago
  I agree with your sentiments, but here's the difference: you could write anything in a bio. And in a CV. That's why socially verifiable information is always preferred. When trying to get an idea of what someone is like, flicking through their Twitter / LinkedIn / HN posts is far more informative and reliable (and quicker) than reading a bunch of prose they wrote about themselves.
  - rayhano 15y ago
    But this all mostly a box to be ticked, to verify whether a conversation needs to be had...
  - shingen 15y ago
    Obviously you could write anything on a Twitter feed. People embellish the hell out of their LinkedIn profiles, just like they might a resume. I don't believe Twitter qualifies as a valuable form of due diligence for an investor. Should Zuckerberg be worried about what Wall Street thinks of his Twitter account? One post in three years probably implies he just isn't with the times. https://twitter.com/#!/finkd https://twitter.com/#!/finkd It's not looking good for Zuck. You know what's a lot more reliable than me tweeting about Whitney Houston's death? The product I create and show you. Brass tacks. The rest is a superficial sideshow.
    - fredsters_s 15y ago
      Are you equating a cold-calling investment prospect with Mark Zuckerberg? I don't believe Twitter qualifies as a valuable form of due diligence for an investor No disrespect, but you're belief is incorrect. Anything and everything about you online is used when doing DD. Of course, if your product is fucking awesome, then the fact that your Twitter stream is empty is irrelevant. But if your product is fucking awesome, you aren't cold-calling VCs. VCs are cold-calling you.
      - tatsuke95 15y ago
        >"Anything and everything about you online is used when doing DD." Having what, for all intents and purposes, is an employer judge - or worse yet misjudge- me based on my interests, or the articles I read is precisely the reason I'm moving away the merger of my online/offline lives. I recently put my money where my mouth is and deleted my Facebook account. >"However, at the seed stage you're investing in people" This always sounds like horseshit to me. Can some one point to some good examples where this model has been truly successful? Why aren't VCs actively recruiting college campuses, then? It seems like you're missing out on a huge chunk of great candidates if you're always selecting "people" from a small subset who are seeking funding for their (possibly terrible) technology startup.

sskates 15y ago

I think people in this thread are reading too much into his list of requirements. He's telling you some of the details you can get right that will help him to decide to invest in you, and you're taking them literally. I don't use twitter, but I don't think he'd hold it against me if I were asking for his investment. He just wants an easy way to look at my online presence, so something like a blog/stackoverflow/HN account/github/Facebook would be helpful too.