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Docs were finished, a "closing dinner" was had, a handshake was made on the deal, and then AirBnb backed out. If an investor pulled that on a YC company I'm sur
by sjtgraham 11y ago
Docs were finished, a "closing dinner" was had, a handshake was made on the deal, and then AirBnb backed out. If an investor pulled that on a YC company I'm sure they would be blackballed rather quickly.
- HappyTypist 11y agoTo be fair, you'll also need to consider if there is a power imbalance with the company and the investor. Co-founder are the "smaller guys" here.
- andrewstuart 11y agoYou could equally say: "Docs were finished, a "closing dinner" was had, a handshake was made on the deal, and then the investor didn't sign"
- mentat 11y agoAnd we would be just as critical of that investor.
- carrotleads 11y agoAre we.. I am not so sure..
- harryjo 11y agoAirBnB has never been one to follow the rules, from the earliest days of Craigslist spamming and flouting lease agreements and hotel regulations. You don't do handshake deals with people whose fundamental business model is "cutting corners wherever you can sneak away with it"
- philwelch 11y agoOne thing we can all learn from AirBnB: if any group of people you hire for any reason, even on a contract basis, do one bad thing on the Internet one time, haters on the Internet will never let you live it down. Hire carefully.
- j_s 11y agoYes, because no one ever passes the buck entirely. I believe this accountability is a good thing; see for example this discussion: This is how Visa works https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4396414 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4396414 (900+ points 3 years ago)