
Cthulhu Ventures - apsec112
https://cthulhuventures.com/
======
skrebbel
(I'm assuming that this is not satire - it looks a bit too real)

I really love it when people carry jokes into serious business and take it all
the way to the end. There's a lot of guts in that. I envy that level of self-
confidence and hope to one day get there myself.

That said, somehow I love it even more when such jokes get featured on HN and,
invariably, shares of dry humorless grumpy people complain that they can't
_possibly_ take people who make jokes seriously. I always wonder what brings
someone to distrust ballsy humor, I can't really wrap my head around it.

Personally, if someone has the guts to not only make a silly joke with friends
over a beer, but actually turn it into a real thing (in this case, a venture
fund), then that's the kind of person I want to do business with. That sort of
guts shows elsewhere too (Elon Musk is a nice example).

~~~
chrisseaton
I think a lot of people value that HN isn’t the kind of place where you get
puns and flippant comments and posts.

~~~
mrzool
I turn to Reddit for that. Here on HN humour is generally very lacking and
even frowned upon. Things lighten up a bit when people like idlewords[1] show
up, but that's pretty much the exception. For a recent example, just read
through the comments in here[2] (a Show HN that reached the homepage
yesterday). This is a regrettable state of affairs.

1:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=idlewords](https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=idlewords)

2:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21627714](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21627714)

Edit: forgot that HN also lacks Markdown besides humour

------
robert_foss
> We also strive, in our weak moments, to generate some sort of meaningful
> “good” for humanity (whom we would like to see at least survive until the
> day that we, ourselves, rise from those same dark depths to act as the
> harbinger of mankind’s final doom).

Chtulhu Ventures seems to be far more invested in the the good of mankind than
the average SF VC.

------
weare138
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu Ventures R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

~~~
skocznymroczny
Nice try, mortal

------
kresten
I expected The Team to include Yog Sothoth.

------
youdontknowtho
Comedy comment in a standard post? Downvotes.

Comedy name for a VC firm on a site where people hope they can get VC cash for
their "it's the Uber of XYZ industry" start-up?

"Epic lulz sir! Taking jokes into the business world is brave!"

------
sansnomme
I hate to ask this but is this satire?

~~~
dmix
Nope looks real after digging deeper. Based on the portfolio it looks to be
based on Australia or NZ.

~~~
BLKNSLVR
The website footer Contact section:

    
    
      Cthulhu Ventures llc
      100 Shoreline Hwy • Suite B280
      Mill Valley, CA 94941
      Tel: 415-444-9602 • Fax: 415-444-9602
      info at cthulhuventures.com

------
wimgz
We invest in things that should not be

------
vvllmprz
Portfolio looks interesting, Life360 is big. Unfortunately, this website is
poorly designed to put it lightly.

I get that one of the founders really likes Lovecraft, but spend some money
and do the website right instead of finding cthulu pictures off of google
images and pasting them into a template.

~~~
jimbo1qaz
[https://www.wired.com/story/life360-location-tracking-
famili...](https://www.wired.com/story/life360-location-tracking-families/)

>Parents can use Life360 to track their teen’s location in real time. The
company can use that data to sell car insurance.

I think apps which allow parents to monitor their kids and invade their
privacy are bad for humanity.

~~~
feintruled
You think? It seems like about the one valid use case for tracking. I bought
phones for my kids on the proviso they would be primarily for safety purposes.
Though it will start to get a bit grey as they get older.

------
zaarn
Finally a venture capitalist I can trust.

~~~
6nf
Cthulhu 2020. Why choose the lesser evil?

~~~
zaarn
Nyarlatothep 2020: The Dark Pharao for President!

Hastur 2020: Who but that which is already the yellow king?

~~~
SideburnsOfDoom
> Nyarlatothep 2020: The Dark Pharao for President!

He's standing for Prime Minister of the UK, but in his views, that doesn't
disqualify him from running for president too. No "dirty laundry", so to
speak.

~~~
arethuza
I take it you are a fan of the Laundry Files then?

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Laundry_Files](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Laundry_Files)

~~~
SideburnsOfDoom
You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment.

~~~
arethuza
Or your head catches fire?

------
markus_zhang
Checked the Portofolio and seems to be... authentic? Cthulhu Fhtagn!

------
DoofusOfDeath
Slightly off-topic, but is "The Call of Cthulu" still worth reading?

I haven't read it yet, so I'm curious if it's somewhat dated, or tame
according to modern sensibilities.

~~~
Lambdanaut
It's very short. Go for it. Personally it's one of my least favorite short
stories by Lovecraft and it's amusing to me that Cthulhu became so wrapped up
in popular culture when there are many far more interesting beasties in his
lore.

~~~
DoofusOfDeath
Thanks! Which of his stories would you _most_ recommend?

~~~
sdmike1
The color out of Space[1] is pretty good! However the Dunwich Horror[2], The
Shadow over Innsmouth[3], At the Mountains of Madness[4], and of course, the
Call of Cthulhu[5] are all good.

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXyda5iiGEo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXyda5iiGEo)

[2]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKkya1pMhMQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKkya1pMhMQ)

[3]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gviofDcypzE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gviofDcypzE)

[4]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2iSmE129uQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2iSmE129uQ)

[5]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM9Z39D1yyI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM9Z39D1yyI)

------
jelliclesfarm
Cthulhu Mythos is the best example of open source in the genre we now know as
Weird Fiction.

All Hail, Cthulhu!

------
pixelrevision
The percentage put into advertising is kinda low

------
lilyball
I appreciate their commitment to the bit. I wish their team included slightly
more diversity however.

~~~
DoofusOfDeath
I just had mandatory diversity training, and TBH I'm genuinely confused about
what is considered acceptable by its proponents.

If your comment is based on diversity of gender, it seems to run afoul of
several "diversity" tenets I was just taught:

\- It infers their physical gender based on their appearance.

\- It conflates physical gender with gender identity.

\- It infers race based on physical appearance.

\- It infers ethnicity based on apparent race.

\- If brings up the topic of those particular persons' races, ethnicities,
physical gender, and perhaps gender identities, when you can't be sure they
want them to be discussed.

I'm not trying to be snarky with this comment. I genuinely don't understand
what it is that the diversity-advocating crowd is advocating regarding
acceptable discussion.

~~~
cthalupa
You're overthinking this.

Humans have to make basic baseline assumptions when interacting with people.
This is normal, and there is no majority voice in the community that advocates
for increasing diversity that is saying you can't do this. The 'DID YOU JUST
ASSUME MY GENDER?' stuff is is an out of the norm reaction that has largely
been co-opted into a meme by those that are against increased diversity as an
attempt to ridicule it. The same with the 'identifying as an attack
helicopter' crap. There are definitely extreme voices, but they are a small
minority.

The goal for those who are pushing for diversity and continuing to combat
sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. is not to alienate everyone and
force them to never believe anything about someone's race, gender, etc. unless
explicitly informed. The goal is to make sure you respect that sometimes
appearances don't match reality.

I have a lot of good friends. Some of them happen to be trans. I have never
seen any of them get upset at someone who misgendered them prior to
transition, as long as they made an effort to correctly gender them after
being informed. During transition, largely the same. Post-transition it's
usually quite obvious, but I still see them exercise patience, at least at
first, if the person's demeanor isn't hostile.

As for bringing up the topics - they might not want to rehash it with you, or
anyone. That means that if they ask you to drop it or are otherwise expressing
discomfort with the subject, do so. Don't debate it right around them (and I'm
guilty of this one!). But that doesn't mean don't discuss the issues. They can
ignore comment threads on the internet they don't want to read, and those of
us not facing those issues need to be cognizant of them and discuss them. In
person, not so much - especially in the workplace, where they might not have
any way to escape the discussion.

The goal isn't to be the thought police. The goal is to be courteous to
others.

------
IceCreamGondola
Sorry but I would not trust a company that brands itself using a mythical
monster to give me funding. If I'm putting the future of my company in the
hands of some venture-capitalists I'd want to know they're the real deal and a
company that uses:

"Our goal, as Cthulhu, is to support initiatives designed to rise from the
dark depths of R’lyeh (metaphorically speaking!) and end up destroying or at
least disrupting, some market paradigm."

As its opening line does not exude professionalism.

~~~
Apocryphon
[https://www.mithril.com](https://www.mithril.com)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valar_Ventures](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valar_Ventures)

~~~
IceCreamGondola
These I don’t really see a problem with. The name is inspired by fiction
that’s fine. When I go onto a firms website and see images of a mythical
monster plastered everywhere that’s when it gets a bit ridiculous.

~~~
TeMPOraL
A good chunk of countries, counties and cities on the planet have mythical
beasts in their official signage. So do the militaries and companies dealing
with them. From the other end, entrepreneurial scene is full of discussions
about a particular mythical beast, the unicorn (as 'DoreenMichele pointed out
upthread). And, of course, dragons.

Really, it doesn't seem to me that you're uncomfortable with mythical beasts
_per se_. It's just this creature isn't part of the old, baseline culture. It
isn't Greek/Roman/Chinese mythology. It's a part of the _nerd subculture_.
That's what I think you're uncomfortable with.

~~~
IceCreamGondola
> A good chunk of countries, counties and cities on the planet have mythical
> beasts in their official signage. So do the militaries and companies dealing
> with them.

Yes they do and that isn't a problem. There is a difference between using
symbols and names and then branding your entire website with said things.

> From the other end, entrepreneurial scene is full of discussions about a
> particular mythical beast, the unicorn (as 'DoreenMichele pointed out
> upthread).

The link 'DoreenMichele sent is not the point. I don't care about signage I
care about branding. Starbucks isn't using the Mermaid mythology in how it
describes its company, it uses it as signage. That's fine no issues there.

Side note: I think the "unicorn" obsession in the tech sector is stupid and
overrated. If a company advertises that it's looking for its next "unicorn-x"
then I pretty much write them off.

> Really, it doesn't seem to me that you're uncomfortable with mythical beasts
> per se. It's just this creature isn't part of the old, baseline culture. It
> isn't Greek/Roman/Chinese mythology. It's a part of the nerd subculture.
> That's what I think you're uncomfortable with.

I think that's a pretty big leap to make. I have no issues with a company
calling itself "Cthulu". I have an issue with how it is plastered all over the
site and has even formed its mission statement around it.

~~~
yomly
Pretty sure this is on-point branding and differentiation.

Some people want to work with your faceless pristine professional top-heavy VC
firm oozing with pedigree (McK,GS,Ivy galore) and some people want to roll the
dice with people who aren't afraid to distinguish themselves from the culture
of their herd and go hard (maybe too hard?) on something niche. So their
branding is probably serving some use in self-selection and mindshare - I'm
sure plenty of people will remember Cthulhu Ventures, for instance.

I'm ambivalent either way, I wouldn't judge too about this book based on its
cover per se other than they've clearly thought about how they want the cover
to be received which is a data point in and of itself. I suppose better that
than not thinking about the cover whatsoever.

~~~
IceCreamGondola
If that's what they're going for then fine. I expressed my opinion that I
wouldn't take them seriously. Underneath the ridiculous branding they may very
well be a great VC firm but the website doesn't sell that to me.

------
SandersAK
"Our goal, as Cthulhu, is to support initiatives designed to rise from the
dark depths of R’lyeh (metaphorically speaking!) and end up destroying or at
least disrupting, some market paradigm."

Happy to maintain social paradigms though - only one woman on then entire
team...

~~~
chippy
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming" They do not want him woke

~~~
coleifer
Underrated comment.

