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"Cheiky’s next plan to help mankind is a startup called V-Grid. As he explained in a YouTube clip, the company’s goal is to revolutionize the electric grid, bri
by mbesto 13y ago
"Cheiky’s next plan to help mankind is a startup called V-Grid. As he explained in a YouTube clip, the company’s goal is to revolutionize the electric grid, bringing cheap, renewable energy to millions around the world. The clip was pulled a few days before this story was published and edited to remove several seconds. In the original video, he claims to an audience of small investors that a team of backers, including Google, BP, and GE, and NorthBridge are already funding V-grid.
Cheiky says the because he secured a loan from Cool Planet to start V-grid, all the investors in one company are essentially backers in another. Yet when I asked those same investors if they had ever heard of or funded V-Grid, all adamantly and repeatedly denied it. But with the ink barely dry on Cool Planet’s recent fundraising, Cheiky’s already got another dream to sell, another round of investors to pitch. Seeing big-name backers already committed gives small investors confidence that someone has done due diligence on his claims."
I'd be shocked to find that any clever lawyer can't find fraud in this...
- carrotleads 13y agoThis is just the extension of the "testimonials" culture I see with many businesses, including startups. How many of you double check testimonials profiled on a site. But sales people seem to swear by them. How does that work?
- midas007 13y agoSo I have it on good account that [withheld top 3 VC] invested $15 million USD in [withheld] because they needed to have an investment in China to satisfy some arbitrary mandate. It was an investment of expedience. There is little science going on. It's mostly hocus-pocus business theater wearing a suit and tie and saying the expensive, semi-gloss prospectus in front of them mitigates risk when they're too dainty to understand how sausage is made in the sausage factory. This is exactly why some angels are now cutting 5 figure checks with zero due-diligence. It's mostly a CWOT apart from "just promise not to retire to Bermuda before you've given it a go."
- Terr_ 13y ago> It's mostly a CWOT For a moment I misread that as "Mostly a CMOT", which seemed appropriate. CMOT Dibbler is a salesman from the Discworld novels. Somehow he maintains a crude existence convincing people to buy the most terrible products.
- midas007 13y agoThat is LOL worthy. Due-diligence is mostly a business theater hazing ritual so folks don't run off to Cuba nor cons fresh out on early release. But yeah a few valley ceos are really good at pitching startups that they know have more fleas than teeth.
- midas007 13y agoThe tone of the article comes off as character assassination, so there's likely to be suits regardless of merit either way. Beyond that, I can't see how this is anything different than most any company: the boss has some grand vision and hands-on people make the hand-waiving into enough of an economic reality to keep said the company afloat. Moller has been promising flying cars since I could read Popular Mechanics. We need more crazy, enthusiastic fools to keep trying.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- swombat 13y agoYou're missing sarcasm tags there. I hope.
- mpk 13y agoUh, Gates not a programmer? You might want to check your history. By all accounts he is, or was, an excellent programmer who definitely got his hands dirty. [edit add refs] Joel's Bill interview - http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/06/16.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/06/16.html Pancake problem - http://archive.today/20120916031916/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92236781 http://archive.today/20120916031916/http://www.npr.org/templ...