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This is a really fantastic essay, but I was disappointed by this: The people who are really good at acting formidable often solve this problem by giving invest
by wissler 13y ago
This is a really fantastic essay, but I was disappointed by this:
The people who are really good at acting formidable often solve this problem by giving investors the impression that while no investors have committed yet, several are about to. This is arguably a permissible tactic.
By engaging in this tactic, you are working to make foolish behavior on the part of the investor successful, which then leads to the very climate that makes the dishonesty so tempting in the first place. It's a vicious cycle.
Why not stick to the "always be 100% honest" approach? This will reform the investor climate over the long-term if the best startups consistently use it, and after all, these best startups are the target of your essay.
I recognize you didn't recommend this approach. But I think you should go one step further and not claim it is arguably acceptable.
- larrys 13y ago"This will reform the investor climate over the long-term if the best startups consistently use it, and after all, these best startups are the target of your essay." Seems that the target of PG's advice is a particular individual and what benefits them. Not what benefits all startups. If he were writing to investors he might write differently.
- jdh 13y agoFundraising climates cycle from optimistic to pessimistic. If you take a ten year view, this would be an average to above average time to raise money in my view. In the difficult environments, everyone has their wallets stashed in their pockets and it's hard for even good startups to raise money. In that environment I think engaging in "permissible levels of salesmanship" is probably rational. But in an average to strong market, I agree, why compromise even at the margin? If it's a good idea you'll get funded.