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Some people have so much money they don't mind investing 10-100m here and there in the hope of making a 10x return. Greed and hype explains a lot of the juicero

Some people have so much money they don't mind investing 10-100m here and there in the hope of making a 10x return. Greed and hype explains a lot of the juicero type of investments. It says a lot when public services are deteriorating pretty much everywhere while investors blow hundred millions on fruit pressing machines and LLM wrappers

bojan 1y ago
The public services are deteriorating because that's what the people are voting for.
- lm28469 1y ago
  Could that be because 99% of mass medias who make or break politicians are owned by a small elite of hardcore capitalists who have their own interests in mind? Democracy isn't just about showing up every few years and putting a name in a ballot, it's a framework that requires a whole bunch of other things. A lot of EU countries and the US are getting closer and closer to oligarchies
- AJRF 1y ago
  What do you mean by this? Do you mean in the UK, where this company was based. How are UK citizens voting for deteriorating services?
  - justinclift 1y ago
    Did you miss the Brexit thing?
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - ath3nd 1y ago
    > How are UK citizens voting for deteriorating services? - Voting Tory, you get cutting of public health services (e.g NHS) and and Brexit. - Voting Reform, you get the same plus a healthy dose of xenophobia and nationalism (it's thinly veiled-fascism, really). - Voting Labour, you get the same cuts but with a nice label of "progress", so you can feel good about yourself. All the while flat prices are skyrocketing and your doctor's appointment might not ever happen, but there is always money for militarizing police and for sending abroad some bombs to kill Palestinians. If people did want improved public services, they should have voted for somebody like Jeremy Corbyn, who had the decency to distance himself from the absolute disgrace that Labour has become, or at least for the Greens/Socialists. But people did not, in fact, want improved public services, not really. They preferred to either vote for the xenophobe thugs of Reform, the xenophobe elitist Tories, or the pretend-liberal oligarch/capital-loving "Labour", none of who have any incentives to improve public services. You get what you vote for.
_fizz_buzz_ 1y ago
How can I talk to those people? I have a business that is profitable, but small. And I find it difficult to talk to investors.
- UK-AL 1y ago
  Did you go to same university, the same clubs? Have a look at lot of founders on linkedin. You'll notice a lot go to the same small set of universities, or worked for same companies. Then there's the odd exception. But they're the exception. Its silly to think talent is actually that concentrated. I think everybody knows why some people can get investment to literally throw down the drain on insane moon shots, while others struggle to even survive. I'm sure lots of people have moonshot ideas that might work. Only a very small in group get investment.
  - c0redump 1y ago
    Same as it ever was. The rich and well-connected hoard resources among members of their clique. Then they have the nerve to strut around talking about what visionary geniuses they are to achieve this level of “success”.
- chrismustcode 1y ago
  The orgs investing millions usually aren’t looking to invest small or even profitable most the time. If there’s a good growth story contact people who write smaller checks who would also be interested in using the product.
- csallen 1y ago
  If your networking skills and levels of resourcefulness are such that you're asking random people on HN how to talk to investors, it's very unlikely that any of these investors will invest in you. So the answer is to invest heavily in improving at those two areas.
- CSMastermind 1y ago
  Do you have a plausible path to 10x+ing tens of millions in capital? Ultimately the business of VC means that you're dealing with people how have a high risk tolerance but need the potential high payout to balance their risk. If you have a sustainable, profitable, but small business that needs capital to expand, but likely won't grow significantly, you're better off talking to a family office or individual investors. I'd avoid banks if you can help it. If you actually do think you have a plausible VC investment then it's a game of networking. Go through every person you know and look for someone who knows someone who can give you an introduction. If all else fails there's cold outreach but those can be difficult. You might need to bring on a partner who can handle that side of things if it's critical to your business.
bandoti 1y ago
I agree I mean what about all the teachers and the long term impact they have on society? A “little hundred mil” could go a long way. But, that aside, since I’m just getting into the Lean Startup: In chapter 12—startups typically need Scarce but Secure Resources: “too much budget is as harmful as too little—as countless dot-com failures can attest—…” I suppose this falls under case-and-point. They had too much money and blurring the lines between real customers and early adopters. This whole thing could have probably been figured out for a couple mil I’d imagine (though I’m no expert).
- lelanthran 1y ago
  It's not "case and point". It's case in point.
chairmansteve 1y ago
Also, some may hope to sell to a greater fool. Which works a lot of the time.

bojan 1y ago

The public services are deteriorating because that's what the people are voting for.

lm28469 1y ago
Could that be because 99% of mass medias who make or break politicians are owned by a small elite of hardcore capitalists who have their own interests in mind? Democracy isn't just about showing up every few years and putting a name in a ballot, it's a framework that requires a whole bunch of other things. A lot of EU countries and the US are getting closer and closer to oligarchies
AJRF 1y ago
What do you mean by this? Do you mean in the UK, where this company was based. How are UK citizens voting for deteriorating services?
- justinclift 1y ago
  Did you miss the Brexit thing?
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- ath3nd 1y ago
  > How are UK citizens voting for deteriorating services? - Voting Tory, you get cutting of public health services (e.g NHS) and and Brexit. - Voting Reform, you get the same plus a healthy dose of xenophobia and nationalism (it's thinly veiled-fascism, really). - Voting Labour, you get the same cuts but with a nice label of "progress", so you can feel good about yourself. All the while flat prices are skyrocketing and your doctor's appointment might not ever happen, but there is always money for militarizing police and for sending abroad some bombs to kill Palestinians. If people did want improved public services, they should have voted for somebody like Jeremy Corbyn, who had the decency to distance himself from the absolute disgrace that Labour has become, or at least for the Greens/Socialists. But people did not, in fact, want improved public services, not really. They preferred to either vote for the xenophobe thugs of Reform, the xenophobe elitist Tories, or the pretend-liberal oligarch/capital-loving "Labour", none of who have any incentives to improve public services. You get what you vote for.

_fizz_buzz_ 1y ago

How can I talk to those people? I have a business that is profitable, but small. And I find it difficult to talk to investors.

UK-AL 1y ago
Did you go to same university, the same clubs? Have a look at lot of founders on linkedin. You'll notice a lot go to the same small set of universities, or worked for same companies. Then there's the odd exception. But they're the exception. Its silly to think talent is actually that concentrated. I think everybody knows why some people can get investment to literally throw down the drain on insane moon shots, while others struggle to even survive. I'm sure lots of people have moonshot ideas that might work. Only a very small in group get investment.
- c0redump 1y ago
  Same as it ever was. The rich and well-connected hoard resources among members of their clique. Then they have the nerve to strut around talking about what visionary geniuses they are to achieve this level of “success”.
chrismustcode 1y ago
The orgs investing millions usually aren’t looking to invest small or even profitable most the time. If there’s a good growth story contact people who write smaller checks who would also be interested in using the product.
csallen 1y ago
If your networking skills and levels of resourcefulness are such that you're asking random people on HN how to talk to investors, it's very unlikely that any of these investors will invest in you. So the answer is to invest heavily in improving at those two areas.
CSMastermind 1y ago
Do you have a plausible path to 10x+ing tens of millions in capital? Ultimately the business of VC means that you're dealing with people how have a high risk tolerance but need the potential high payout to balance their risk. If you have a sustainable, profitable, but small business that needs capital to expand, but likely won't grow significantly, you're better off talking to a family office or individual investors. I'd avoid banks if you can help it. If you actually do think you have a plausible VC investment then it's a game of networking. Go through every person you know and look for someone who knows someone who can give you an introduction. If all else fails there's cold outreach but those can be difficult. You might need to bring on a partner who can handle that side of things if it's critical to your business.

bandoti 1y ago

I agree I mean what about all the teachers and the long term impact they have on society? A “little hundred mil” could go a long way. But, that aside, since I’m just getting into the Lean Startup: In chapter 12—startups typically need Scarce but Secure Resources: “too much budget is as harmful as too little—as countless dot-com failures can attest—…” I suppose this falls under case-and-point. They had too much money and blurring the lines between real customers and early adopters. This whole thing could have probably been figured out for a couple mil I’d imagine (though I’m no expert).

lelanthran 1y ago
It's not "case and point". It's case in point.

chairmansteve 1y ago

Also, some may hope to sell to a greater fool. Which works a lot of the time.