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Quote "To date we’ve raised $3 million from ..." (long list of names of VCs and individual investors.) Bad idea to list these names. Some of the listed parties

by lutusp 13y ago

Quote "To date we’ve raised $3 million from ..." (long list of names of VCs and individual investors.) Bad idea to list these names. Some of the listed parties are individuals, small investors, who will surely want their status as speculative investors to be kept confidential.

justinmares 13y ago
I would assume they checked with investors before releasing this, no?
- lutusp 13y ago
  Look at the size of the list, and ask yourself if all those people would accede to a request to release their name and status as investors to the public. Not likely.
  - nknighthb 13y ago
    I googled ten of them. Every single one was a publicly-known angel investor. Maybe you should consider that the guy writing the post actually has contact with these people and has vastly superior knowledge of what they want than you do.
    - lutusp 13y ago
      > Maybe you should consider that the guy writing the post actually has contact with these people and has vastly superior knowledge of what they want than you do. And maybe you should consider thinking a bit more deeply. First, what value does an exhaustive list of investors add to the article? Second, do you really think it's in the interest of a small investor to have his name be associated with a particular speculative investment in this way? If an investor's specific choices are known, he will be approached by people who know how to pitch a given project in a way calculated for maximum effect. This distorts the investment process. It's the equivalent of SEO for investors. > and has vastly superior knowledge of what they want than you do. If that were true, he wouldn't be an applicant, he would be an investor. And to think, if you thought a bit more deeply before posting, this obvious fact would have occurred to you.
      - nknighthb 13y ago
        Your incredible arrogance never ceases to amaze, I'll grant you that. Most of the investors I googled were already specifically known to have been investors in easypost. This should not surprise you, most startup angels and seed investors do not hide their investments, and they are routinely named in press releases and media stories. And I was obviously referring to what they want in this particular matter. Though I'm quite confident he knows more about what they want in general than you do, too, since you routinely show yourself to be horrendously out of touch with your fellow humans.
        lutusp 13y ago
        > Your incredible arrogance never ceases to amaze, I'll grant you that. Address the topic or stop posting. I'm not the topic. > I'm quite confident he knows more about what they want in general than you do ... As an investor, I have to say you have no idea what you're talking about -- not a clue. And you certainly have no idea to whom you are speaking. > since you routinely show yourself to be horrendously out of touch with your fellow humans. Yep, of course. That would explain my multi-decade, very successful career as a software developer and investor. You need a reality check.
        RyanZAG 13y ago
        While you are an exceptionally skilled software developer and investor, you probably need to work on communicating in a more amiable fashion. You don't come across very well here and nknighthb's point is both argued better and more logically backed. It seems very clear that those names would not be published in a high visibility public relations press release like this one without contractual agreement.
        lutusp 13y ago
        > While you are an exceptionally skilled software developer and investor, you probably need to work on communicating in a more amiable fashion. Why bother? I just used crystal clear prose to make a legitimate point about investors' understandable wish to avoid pointless and undermining publicity, and got downvoted by people who obviously didn't understand what I was saying, not for lack of clear prose on my part, but because of a lack of real-world experience on theirs. > You don't come across very well here and nknighthb's point is both argued better and more logically backed. Nonsense. I addressed the topic, and nknighthb tried to make me the topic. That's not only trolling and ineffective communication, it's a logical error. > It seems very clear that those names would not be published in a high visibility public relations press release like this one without contractual agreement. That may seem clear to you, but it's also obviously and transparently false. With the exception of corporate VC entities, individual investors are naturally protective of their privacy and would prefer it if their choices were not made a matter of public record. My experience in this area goes back to the early days at Apple Computer, where we had to be very careful how we described the handful of angel investors who considered backing what at that time were almost two guys in a garage. Look -- this is investment 101. I don't know how to make this clear to you, but listing investors is a tricky business, not to be taken lightly. It's more political than it is logical, and it's not remotely like writing software.
jstreebin 13y ago
I left off the ones that wouldn't appreciate it
- lutusp 13y ago
  How did you decide which people wouldn't mind -- did you ask each one? Also, perhaps more to the point, what value does it add to the article?
  - cowsandmilk 13y ago
    being able to list someone as an investor should be part of your investment agreement. I've only dealt with large firms, not individuals, but it is in all my agreements whether I may use their names.
- CompleteMoron2 13y ago
  Thanks for writing this. It was informative. How much of the company do you and your team own after all these angel VC's?
patio11 13y ago
The etiquette for this sort of thing is that the founder, assuming they're on the ball, asks "Can we quote your involvement publicly?" very soon after receiving agreement in principle that you're in. I think both times I was asked that question it was literally within 90 seconds of the words "agree on a handshake." You're right that people treat this with a lot of sensitivity, but you're overestimating how much effort it requires to have a column in a spreadsheet. This is one of the many "quirky rituals around fundraising" which AngelList is busy automating. I am of the impression that "AngelList official" is now understandable with regards to an investment like "FaceBook official" is understandable with regards to an engagement.

by lutusp 13y ago

justinmares 13y ago

I would assume they checked with investors before releasing this, no?

lutusp 13y ago
Look at the size of the list, and ask yourself if all those people would accede to a request to release their name and status as investors to the public. Not likely.
- nknighthb 13y ago
  I googled ten of them. Every single one was a publicly-known angel investor. Maybe you should consider that the guy writing the post actually has contact with these people and has vastly superior knowledge of what they want than you do.
  - lutusp 13y ago
    > Maybe you should consider that the guy writing the post actually has contact with these people and has vastly superior knowledge of what they want than you do. And maybe you should consider thinking a bit more deeply. First, what value does an exhaustive list of investors add to the article? Second, do you really think it's in the interest of a small investor to have his name be associated with a particular speculative investment in this way? If an investor's specific choices are known, he will be approached by people who know how to pitch a given project in a way calculated for maximum effect. This distorts the investment process. It's the equivalent of SEO for investors. > and has vastly superior knowledge of what they want than you do. If that were true, he wouldn't be an applicant, he would be an investor. And to think, if you thought a bit more deeply before posting, this obvious fact would have occurred to you.
    - nknighthb 13y ago
      Your incredible arrogance never ceases to amaze, I'll grant you that. Most of the investors I googled were already specifically known to have been investors in easypost. This should not surprise you, most startup angels and seed investors do not hide their investments, and they are routinely named in press releases and media stories. And I was obviously referring to what they want in this particular matter. Though I'm quite confident he knows more about what they want in general than you do, too, since you routinely show yourself to be horrendously out of touch with your fellow humans.
      - lutusp 13y ago
        > Your incredible arrogance never ceases to amaze, I'll grant you that. Address the topic or stop posting. I'm not the topic. > I'm quite confident he knows more about what they want in general than you do ... As an investor, I have to say you have no idea what you're talking about -- not a clue. And you certainly have no idea to whom you are speaking. > since you routinely show yourself to be horrendously out of touch with your fellow humans. Yep, of course. That would explain my multi-decade, very successful career as a software developer and investor. You need a reality check.
        RyanZAG 13y ago
        While you are an exceptionally skilled software developer and investor, you probably need to work on communicating in a more amiable fashion. You don't come across very well here and nknighthb's point is both argued better and more logically backed. It seems very clear that those names would not be published in a high visibility public relations press release like this one without contractual agreement.
        lutusp 13y ago
        > While you are an exceptionally skilled software developer and investor, you probably need to work on communicating in a more amiable fashion. Why bother? I just used crystal clear prose to make a legitimate point about investors' understandable wish to avoid pointless and undermining publicity, and got downvoted by people who obviously didn't understand what I was saying, not for lack of clear prose on my part, but because of a lack of real-world experience on theirs. > You don't come across very well here and nknighthb's point is both argued better and more logically backed. Nonsense. I addressed the topic, and nknighthb tried to make me the topic. That's not only trolling and ineffective communication, it's a logical error. > It seems very clear that those names would not be published in a high visibility public relations press release like this one without contractual agreement. That may seem clear to you, but it's also obviously and transparently false. With the exception of corporate VC entities, individual investors are naturally protective of their privacy and would prefer it if their choices were not made a matter of public record. My experience in this area goes back to the early days at Apple Computer, where we had to be very careful how we described the handful of angel investors who considered backing what at that time were almost two guys in a garage. Look -- this is investment 101. I don't know how to make this clear to you, but listing investors is a tricky business, not to be taken lightly. It's more political than it is logical, and it's not remotely like writing software.

jstreebin 13y ago

I left off the ones that wouldn't appreciate it

lutusp 13y ago
How did you decide which people wouldn't mind -- did you ask each one? Also, perhaps more to the point, what value does it add to the article?
- cowsandmilk 13y ago
  being able to list someone as an investor should be part of your investment agreement. I've only dealt with large firms, not individuals, but it is in all my agreements whether I may use their names.
CompleteMoron2 13y ago
Thanks for writing this. It was informative. How much of the company do you and your team own after all these angel VC's?

patio11 13y ago

The etiquette for this sort of thing is that the founder, assuming they're on the ball, asks "Can we quote your involvement publicly?" very soon after receiving agreement in principle that you're in. I think both times I was asked that question it was literally within 90 seconds of the words "agree on a handshake." You're right that people treat this with a lot of sensitivity, but you're overestimating how much effort it requires to have a column in a spreadsheet. This is one of the many "quirky rituals around fundraising" which AngelList is busy automating. I am of the impression that "AngelList official" is now understandable with regards to an investment like "FaceBook official" is understandable with regards to an engagement.