There's one thing I noticed about Arrington at Disrupt- sure, he's a dick, but he's only a dick to people who a) can take it and b) deserve it. I can't think of a single instance where he has called someone out, and it turned out later he was wrong.

For example, some of the panel at Disrupt were being rude (talking amongst themselves during a startup presentation), and he stopped everything and called them out on it. These weren't just random judges- they were some of Silicon Valley's most influential people. He never once took a shot at any of the startups presenting. He may have given people like Carol Bartz a hard time, but they can take it.

I may not necessarily want him as a friend, but I really respect Arrington. This email from Conway basically proves "yet again, Arrington knew what he was doing."

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Edits about the people posting below me:

- Leo Laporte: a) Leo Laporte can take it, and b) Arrington was merely asking for a disclosure. I don't think that proves me wrong.

- Last.fm: Linking to the official blog of a company being accused isn't proof. There's much more to the story that came after that (ie http://techcrunch.com/2009/05/22/deny-this-lastfm/; not to say linking to TC is any better)

- I'm sure Arrington has been wrong at some point.. I just said I couldn't think of anything.

My paraphrased short version:

Ron Conway to the super-angels: I'm in this game because I love seeing entrepreneurs build cool stuff. You guys aren't. Stop worrying about term sheets and valuations and worry about adding value beyond cash. I've wanted to say this for a long time, but have bit my lip in your presence. I no longer want to be involved with any of you. And Dave McClure, quit being a classless embarrassment to Silicon Valley.

How I raised two boys who read:

1. Start reading to them pretty much as soon as they're born.

2. Read a lot - both frequently and as long as their attention holds. Their attention for stories will get longer as they get older if you keep reading to them.

3. Get comfy and make reading time a time to cuddle.

4. Read really well-written books - engaging plots, smart dialogue, solid exposition. Even young children are sophisticated and discerning enough to know when an author is condescending to them.

5. Perform when you're reading. Don't just read in a monotone: recite the book, with intonation and voices and accents and everything.

6. When they interrupt you to ask questions, take the time to answer them. By doing this, you help children to engage the story and build their own listening comprehension.

7. When they start to show an interest in reading, start teaching them how to do it. Get into the habit of taking turns reading to each other.

Edit - one more thing:

8. Be seen reading a lot yourself.

I don't get it. You're a Delaware C-Corp. You don't owe anything, do you?

Don't take out a loan. Don't restructure your debts. Don't negotiate with your creditors. Don't sell your car. Don't take a loan from your parents. Don't incur anything more than nominal legal bills.

Collect your contracts and take them immediately to your personal attorney and have them reviewed before you attach your own personal credit to your business'. Doing so is almost certainly unnecessary. You are probably just fine.

You are a businessperson, but you're not thinking like one, and you are going to get screwed. When your company's creditors worked out contracts with your business, they understood that they were assuming the risk that the company might go out of business and be unable to pay. That risk was priced into your contract terms.

If people you've done business with are now telling you that you should stake your personal finances on the debts of your company, then, absent some poorly thought out up-front agreement you had with those vendors to the contrary, you're being taken advantage of. Perhaps we'd benefit from hearing more about who those people are.

As for the merchant account: well, the people saying you could be blacklisted sure sound credible, and maybe you should listen to them. But please also note that there are people on this thread saying you should sell your car or take out a loan to satisfy someone else's debts, and take all the advice you get here with a big grain of salt. It shouldn't cost more than a couple hundred dollars to have an attorney explain to you (not your company, not your cofounder) that you are almost certainly not liable for thousands of dollars of company debts.

That is a good summary. However, I'm surprised that so many other comments talk about Conway rocking, being a great individual etc.

When I read his email, my thought was that the email was a great image-building propaganda tool and that he wrote it with the knowledge that the email would be made public.

His email talks how great he is, how he loves entrepreneurs and how other investors are in it for self-serving factors like ego and money. Of course, I have no way of knowing whether that is true or not. However, I'm willing to bet that many unscrupulous investors could easily write a similar email.