4 ms·

In an earlier article I think it said his dad was the VP of a large bank, possibly Bank of America. I am sure that makes it easier to put together a nice seed r

In an earlier article I think it said his dad was the VP of a large bank, possibly Bank of America. I am sure that makes it easier to put together a nice seed round.

8_hours_ago 11y ago
> Clinkle’s first investors were Duplan’s parents. His father is a well-respected software entrepreneur. They told him they’d back his startup as long as he agreed to get a college degree, so Duplan kept his promise, obtaining his bachelor’s in computer science in three years. http://www.businessinsider.com/inside-story-of-clinkle-2014-4 http://www.businessinsider.com/inside-story-of-clinkle-2014-... It looks like his father is Neno Duplan, who founded Locus Technologies.
- icpmacdo 11y ago
  Thanks for the link, sorry if it was misinformation in my post but I still could have sworn that round had something to do with a high profile family member who was a banker. It stood out as a very annoying advantage and has stuck with me as a data point the past few years.
  - lawnchair_larry 11y ago
    Is it an advantage? Getting investment is a good step towards validation. If you get funded for free, you lose that signal, and might just be extending the runway of your death march. I'd guess it slightly increases your probability of success, but greatly increases the cost of failure.
    - _delirium 11y ago
      It's not only good for the direct money (though that's nice), but also the connections to potential customers, if the source of the money is also well-connected (not all wealthy people are well-connected too, but many are). For example, somewhat famously, Bill Gates's mother served on the board of directors of the United Way at the same time that John Opel, chairman of IBM, also served on that board, which was instrumental in getting the young Bill introduced to the right people.
  - trsohmers 11y ago
    You're probably thinking of Nick D'Alosio, whose father was VP at Morgan Stanley. He "sold" his company through interesting means... http://www.businessinsider.com/why-marissa-mayer-bought-a-30m-startup-2013-4 http://www.businessinsider.com/why-marissa-mayer-bought-a-30...
    - icpmacdo 11y ago
      You are correct, I was. Thank you
  - boling11 11y ago
    A VP at a bank isn't really that high up. It's essentially a middle management role... It's not uncommon for people to make VP in their late 20s.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]

In an earlier article I think it said his dad was the VP of a large bank, possibly Bank of America. I am sure that makes it easier to put together a nice seed round.

8_hours_ago 11y ago

> Clinkle’s first investors were Duplan’s parents. His father is a well-respected software entrepreneur. They told him they’d back his startup as long as he agreed to get a college degree, so Duplan kept his promise, obtaining his bachelor’s in computer science in three years. http://www.businessinsider.com/inside-story-of-clinkle-2014-4 http://www.businessinsider.com/inside-story-of-clinkle-2014-... It looks like his father is Neno Duplan, who founded Locus Technologies.

icpmacdo 11y ago
Thanks for the link, sorry if it was misinformation in my post but I still could have sworn that round had something to do with a high profile family member who was a banker. It stood out as a very annoying advantage and has stuck with me as a data point the past few years.
- lawnchair_larry 11y ago
  Is it an advantage? Getting investment is a good step towards validation. If you get funded for free, you lose that signal, and might just be extending the runway of your death march. I'd guess it slightly increases your probability of success, but greatly increases the cost of failure.
  - _delirium 11y ago
    It's not only good for the direct money (though that's nice), but also the connections to potential customers, if the source of the money is also well-connected (not all wealthy people are well-connected too, but many are). For example, somewhat famously, Bill Gates's mother served on the board of directors of the United Way at the same time that John Opel, chairman of IBM, also served on that board, which was instrumental in getting the young Bill introduced to the right people.
- trsohmers 11y ago
  You're probably thinking of Nick D'Alosio, whose father was VP at Morgan Stanley. He "sold" his company through interesting means... http://www.businessinsider.com/why-marissa-mayer-bought-a-30m-startup-2013-4 http://www.businessinsider.com/why-marissa-mayer-bought-a-30...
  - icpmacdo 11y ago
    You are correct, I was. Thank you
- boling11 11y ago
  A VP at a bank isn't really that high up. It's essentially a middle management role... It's not uncommon for people to make VP in their late 20s.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]