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I did DD on that for another group of investors and caused them to walk away. Interestingly, they too were scammers but of a completely different level. I thin

I did DD on that for another group of investors and caused them to walk away. Interestingly, they too were scammers but of a completely different level. I think the 'inventor' (loose use of the term, nothing really got invented) was a true believer, he basically thought that if only he could get his hands on some capital that he would be able to make it work. He simply did not have the background required to see that it could never work in the way that he proposed. Nicely faked demo though :) I would do a write-up if I didn't think the case was more of a sad one than of someone trying to rip off investors, Jan Sloot just wasn't that kind of guy from my interaction with him. Maybe he did invent something: "Fake it before you make it".

dreamcompiler 1y ago
I've occasionally been asked by an investor to do DD on some inventor's idea. Whenever it's an obvious scam I turn down the job. If I tell the truth and say it's a scam, the "inventor" will sue me. If I lie and say the technology has promise, the investor will sue me when he loses his investment. There's no upside to a job doing DD on a scam.
- jacquesm 1y ago
  You need better contracts.
- TuringNYC 1y ago
  >> I've occasionally been asked by an investor to do DD on some inventor's idea. Whenever it's an obvious scam I turn down the job. If I tell the truth and say it's a scam, the "inventor" will sue me. If I lie and say the technology has promise, the investor will sue me when he loses his investment. Wouldnt the non-confrontational approach here be to agree with everyone on a benchmark, build up the benchmark, and showcase results?
  - dreamcompiler 1y ago
    Probably. The problem is that scammers are very clever with demos e.g. there's always a battery hidden inside the free energy device and they won't let you take it apart. One can work around such obstacles with very carefully designed tests, but then the scammer makes up some excuse not to agree to those conditions so you have to go back and forth and it becomes so expensive to do the DD exercise that the investor cancels the project. Some people might be able to make this kind of business work but I don't have the patience or the political skills for it.
    - jacquesm 1y ago
      A key part here is that your advice to your customer is confidential. They simply should not release it unless it is under your letter of non-reliance. That said, yes, scammers are - by far - the most aggressive (they know they're scammers, after all, and you are between them and their goal, which is to get funded, not to provide a product or a service) but it is up to your customers to hold the line there. Weak customers may end up being intimidated, that can be an issue.
DonHopkins 1y ago
Roel Pieper -- anything to do with Pied Piper? ;) https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Sloot https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Sloot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYdLGz3XBE8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYdLGz3XBE8
- jacquesm 1y ago
  He's a windbag. I never understood how they could even think of making him head of Philips. And to this day he claims that Sloot's box worked. The group I worked for was a bunch of wealthy Dutch guys, several of whom ended up defrauding other investors. Great little world...

dreamcompiler 1y ago

I've occasionally been asked by an investor to do DD on some inventor's idea. Whenever it's an obvious scam I turn down the job. If I tell the truth and say it's a scam, the "inventor" will sue me. If I lie and say the technology has promise, the investor will sue me when he loses his investment. There's no upside to a job doing DD on a scam.

jacquesm 1y ago
You need better contracts.
TuringNYC 1y ago
>> I've occasionally been asked by an investor to do DD on some inventor's idea. Whenever it's an obvious scam I turn down the job. If I tell the truth and say it's a scam, the "inventor" will sue me. If I lie and say the technology has promise, the investor will sue me when he loses his investment. Wouldnt the non-confrontational approach here be to agree with everyone on a benchmark, build up the benchmark, and showcase results?
- dreamcompiler 1y ago
  Probably. The problem is that scammers are very clever with demos e.g. there's always a battery hidden inside the free energy device and they won't let you take it apart. One can work around such obstacles with very carefully designed tests, but then the scammer makes up some excuse not to agree to those conditions so you have to go back and forth and it becomes so expensive to do the DD exercise that the investor cancels the project. Some people might be able to make this kind of business work but I don't have the patience or the political skills for it.
  - jacquesm 1y ago
    A key part here is that your advice to your customer is confidential. They simply should not release it unless it is under your letter of non-reliance. That said, yes, scammers are - by far - the most aggressive (they know they're scammers, after all, and you are between them and their goal, which is to get funded, not to provide a product or a service) but it is up to your customers to hold the line there. Weak customers may end up being intimidated, that can be an issue.

DonHopkins 1y ago

Roel Pieper -- anything to do with Pied Piper? ;) https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Sloot https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Sloot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYdLGz3XBE8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYdLGz3XBE8

jacquesm 1y ago
He's a windbag. I never understood how they could even think of making him head of Philips. And to this day he claims that Sloot's box worked. The group I worked for was a bunch of wealthy Dutch guys, several of whom ended up defrauding other investors. Great little world...