

Why bryce is a really leaving Angel List  - jasonmcalacanis
http://calacanis.com/2011/02/26/my-response-to-bryce-crying-about-anglelist/
Breaking: tiny VC who can't compete with big VCs or price-insensitive angels leaves playground with ball.
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harold
It always cracks me up to see Calacanis accuse someone else of
_grandstanding_... That's classic.

On the investment side, I think it's interesting how some of the older notions
of control and influence by investors in a startup are changing. Surely this
is one of the best times in recent memory to start a tech company.

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taylorwc
... Proving, once again, that despite his successes, Calacanis has a
fundamental lack of professionalism and respect.

~~~
jasonmcalacanis
Oh please. Blogging is full-contact sport. if Bryce wants to leave @angellist
in a huge cry-baby post, he can handle honest response.

You want me to sugar coat it for you Taylor? Here ya go:

"Despite Bryce's interesting thoughts on the value of angel communities like
Angle List, I'm left wondering if some portion of his problem might be driven
by the fact that said service might make competing for deals a little harder."

You want more PR speak than that?! I can write it in any tone you like kid...
you want it in a waltz or blue grass version?

I'm the master of blunt, but I can give you medicine any way you want to take
it..... but you're taking the medicine at the end of the day.

~~~
taylorwc
Master of blunt indeed. I'll admit you're exactly right--the active ingredient
in those two differing styles is the same. But it all boils down to a
difference in philosophy. There's something to be said for being blunt and
never pulling a punch. There's also something to be said for trying to be a
peace maker. At the end of the day, the ideal mix is somewhere in between. I
guess I just find always jumping to the 'full-contact sport' mentality
distasteful.

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jarin
I can never really figure out if I think Calacanis is awesome or if I think
he's terrible, and for that I think he's pretty awesome.

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wensing
_Good luck finding deals off of Angel List, because those deals will be in
companies run by very stupid entrepreneurs. If you’re an entrepreneur you’re
going to embrace Angel List because that’s where the passionate, low-return
driven money is._

Are you saying that if a startup would rather take money from someone like
OATV then they are stupid entrepreneurs?

 _Good luck playing with your ball in that backyard with mommy. The rest of us
are going to Naval’s playground._

Am I correct to think that Naval does an initial screen of applicants before
sending them on to members of the list? If so, aren't you trusting Naval's
selection bias / pattern matching? What if you don't want that as an investor?

~~~
jasonmcalacanis
1\. I think if you are an entrepreneur and you skip angel list that you are
stupid. Not sure how you make the logic jump from that statement over to
"taking money from OATV makes you stupid."

Obviously OATV is a fine firm, and taking money from them is great. It's
ignoring Angel List that would be stupid.

And certainly it's stupid for OATV to ignore/block out angel list... that's
sort of the point of my calling out Bryce. Who in their right mind would block
a potential deal and information source!??!!? That's just idiotic... and I
know Bryce isn't an idiot.

Thus my conclusion that Bryce is grandstanding for attention..... mission
accomplished!

2\. Naval does a light screen and "short circulation" from what i understand.
This means he'll send a deal to < 10 folks to see if it's get traction before
blasting everyone. So, it's sort of two-layer filtering I guess.

You won't see bad, or un-fundable, companies on angel list. However, you will
see a range of weak to strong ones.

~~~
wensing
Thanks for the response.

 _I think if you are an entrepreneur and you skip angel list that you are
stupid. Not sure how you make the logic jump from that statement over to
"taking money from OATV makes you stupid."_

I should have clarified: some entrepreneurs may fail to raise money from
AngelList but that doesn't mean they can't or shouldn't try to raise money
elsewhere and it also doesn't mean they won't ultimately succeed.

Also, a startup may have an awesome team or product but without social proof
they will likely fare better applying to YC/TechStars/incubator than AL.

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neworbit
This is why I like to read Calacanis and Ferris, it's a lot like reading the
editorial section of the paper. (What's a newspaper?) You may love 'em or hate
'em but at least you know where you stand.

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fedd
i see myself how investors think by patterns. so @bryce's right, we would be
happy to meet an investor that don't ask the same questions answers on which
we just can learn.

and, how investors consider themselves sortof saviors, ones in the millions,
which is bad for the deal as well. so @jason is right too.

now, peace!

