
Justin.tv - Paul Graham at AngelConf - paul
http://www.justin.tv/clip/15489851960ba5d5
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sam_in_nyc
This was really awesome to watch, for a few reasons.

I've never seen PG in person or on video. Based on his essays and comments I
was expecting someone, for some reason, with a beard.. and maybe a medium-
paced speaker with nothing in particular too exciting about him. I don't know
why, but I just wasn't expecting someone all that exciting. Turns out he's an
overgrown kid who is genuinely enthusiastic and into what he does. I cannot
wait to get involved with people like him, and I'll read anything he posts
with that enthusiasm in mind. (And I vow never to try to guess what somebody
is like based on online text... it's just impossible)

Another reason I enjoyed it was that I'd heard of AngelConf, and I know what
Angel investors are, have worked with a couple, and I've read about it, etc,
etc. But up until watching this video, I realize I only knew the world in a
surreal sense. There are _actually_ conferences with people devoting their
time and energy into investing angel-sized amounts of money, and it seems like
an awesome niche to be involved in. I cannot wait until I can afford to place
bets on businesses. Up until now, my only outlet for this has been my time,
not my money.

As a side remark... this "surreal problem" happens to me a lot, particularly
with social things. I think it's because if you show me a chunk of code, I can
look at it and eventually figure "yeah, ok, I see what's going on here." And
if you explain to me how some social system works, and it makes sense, I'll
think "yeah, ok, I see." But what I've not factored in is all the information
you send/receive when being involved in that social system, the subconscious
decisions you learn to make, things like that. I guess that experiencing the
"Blink" effect first hand, or in this case as a derivative of watching video,
effectively opens the doors in my mind and shows me there's _a lot_ more to
understand and explore. I really love it when that happens.

The third major reason I enjoyed this was the content. I never really read
anything from the Angel's perspective or watched much videos, so it was really
cool to see the types of advice they have to juggle around, and what things
are typical in the progress (just by how they're talked about). How much to
invest? How much percent to take? How to valuate? It's great to know that in
the world of seeding businesses, it really _is_ as much an organic process as
it seems like... something I'll recall when I'm not sure if I'm doing things
right, crossing into new territory, etc.

Thanks, PG. Ever thought of doing videos like these to supplement essays? It
really helps points get through a lot better.

edit: this is also good: <http://www.justin.tv/clip/1c8fd85375b>

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pg
_Based on his essays and comments I was expecting someone, for some reason,
with a beard_

This is probably because I often go for a while without shaving, but I feel
obliged to shave for talks.

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sam_in_nyc
That explains it. I know beard-authored text when I see it.

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blurry
As a new yorker, my favorite quote is:

 _You have to be good. Really. That's probably why angel investing hasn't
taken root in New York - you can't screw people"._

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fleaflicker
Just curious: what is YC's motivation for hosting AngelConf?

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vaksel
more angels = more money to invest into YC companies after graduation. i.e. in
the talk they pretty much covered that VCs mostly want to invest in the
million dollar range.

In this day and age a lot of startups simply don't need that much money

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ivankirigin
This is tied to the the root motivation in YC: do good for society by enabling
more startups to exist. That's is a side effect not directly tied to
investments in YC companies, as new angels will certainly also invest
elsewhere.

This isn't to say you're wrong. More investors in YC companies is a direct
motivation for the conference.

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gcheong
It seems like a lot of people there were full time investors or independently
wealthy people who dabbled in it. My conception of the common angel investor
outside of SV, due mainly to watching my father go through this with his own
personal investments, is that of a doctor or lawyer or other high income
bracket person looking to invest some spare cash but who doesn't really know
much about investing per se, but that didn't really seem to be the focus of
this conference.

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bk
Informative, fast-paced talk. From an entrepreneur's perspective it's an
interesting behind-the-scenes perspective when dealing with angel investors.

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ivankirigin
The crowd there is interesting. They want to become angels. This is a
ridiculously awesome way to intro them to the biz. PG telling them to "be
good", for example, starts everyone out of the same page: we all want to get
rich together.

Good for YC's portfolio, good for the new angels, and good for society.

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kailoa
Highly recommend Naval Ravikant's talk as well. Those two were by far the most
informative.

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silvia77
Here is a transcript and notable quotes I wrote up from all the speakers from
the justin.tv video check it out <http://tinyurl.com/d8tpzd>

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EliAndrewC
Will we eventually get an online transcript of this talk?

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abstractbill
Yes, pg said (about 3:30 into the video) this talk will soon be online as an
essay.

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jfornear
Related Cips > Ron Paul, Ron Paul, Ron Paul, Ron Paul...

Is PG the next Ron Paul?! PG 2012 (oh, I get it now...)

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On a related note, I like the section on decisiveness.

I read that when Warren Buffet considers investing in a company, he prefers
them to have a number ready immediately on the spot. Indecisive business
owners are to be avoided.

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Mistone
really enjoyed that. loved the bits about being decisive, why angel investing
has not taken off in NY, and during a recession startups will take money at
any valuation, which is good for all of you because your already rich.

