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GarrettBeck's comments

GarrettBeck | 12 years ago | on: New YC Partner Investment Policy

Most investors think because a YC Partner invested, that must be the best company. And the YC Partners should know, they've spent the last three months with every company!

I'm sure the YC Partners' track record of "picking" is no better than SV Angel, a16z, Greylock, etc.

I think this tweak to the investment policy will contribute to eliminating the sub-par angel investors who base a majority of their investments on which companies received funding from YC partners. PG taking action to make his dreams a reality [1]

[1] http://paulgraham.com/invtrend.html

GarrettBeck | 12 years ago | on: AMD reveals its first ARM processor: 8-core Opteron A1100

I have a feeling history is going to repeat itself. Statements like "AMD believes that it will be the leader of this ARM Server market" reminds me of the DRAM boom-and-bust from 2006-2009. The new (old) hot technology froths the market into a frenzy and semiconductor fabs start rushing to get a slice of the action.

Does Qimonda ring a bell to anyone?

GarrettBeck | 12 years ago | on: Uber rival accuses car service of dirty tactics

There are consequences larger than "hey, stop that."

Even Uber's legal representation said they could be liable for damages:

If Uber employees intentionally diverted Gett drivers from legitimate business by making phony calls, that is an unfair business practice, illegal under California law," he said. "It is also an intentional interference with Gett's business which makes them liable for money damages.

GarrettBeck | 12 years ago | on: If Immunity Project (YC W14) succeeds, they'll offer AIDS vaccine for free

Genentech asked Kleiner Perkins for a $3.0 million dollar investment back in the 70s to see if it was even possible to accomplish genome splicing. The investment would have paid for building a new lab, new equipment, etc. KP decided to give them $500k and rent the UCLA lab instead. That was a groundbreaking investment (and the VC business had only been around for 15-20 years).

In the current landscape of investing, crowdfunding has become the vehicle for riskier investments that traditional VCs no longer make (because they don't fit 10% x $2 billion = happy LPs) and I'm sure KP knows firsthand about dealing with bio-pharma regulations.

Hats off to Immunity and YC.

GarrettBeck | 12 years ago | on: I never finish anyth

Think of any film about any successful company that has ever been made and you'll realize the 'idea' and the 'success' get all the screen time. All of the hard work, sacrifice and, arguably, the best parts of starting a company get rolled up into a 60 second montage. Nobody wants to watch the nitty gritty stuff, let alone do it, but that's what separates founders from everyone else.

GarrettBeck | 12 years ago | on: The iPod of Prison

It probably cost more than $5 for IBM to manufacture a CXA1129N integrated-circuit chip in the 1970s.

GarrettBeck | 12 years ago | on: Sent $35,104.11 USD to CoinBase. Never received Bitcoins

$35,000 is a huge sum of money. I'm suggesting he sell the 40 or so bitcoin he purchased immediately at market price (~$550), cut his loses and move on. By doing so he would limit the damage and would only lose ~$12,700. Bitcoin will continue to fall and he will continue to lose money.

He won't get his money back from CoinBase and he is losing money every second he holds his bitcoin.

Losing money sucks. It happens to everyone who invests, gambles or takes a risk. Take your medicine, learn for your mistakes and be better tomorrow.

GarrettBeck | 12 years ago | on: Sent $35,104.11 USD to CoinBase. Never received Bitcoins

This is the same situation as Facebook's IPO with NASDAQ. Orders were placed $40, then cancelled, then filled at $40 six hours after the market closed (at which point Facebook was already trading below its IPO price).

Unless you are a massive financial institution with some serious clout/legal department, I recommend you cut your losses and move on.

Your time is much more valuable spent doing something else rather than the time you will spend trying to recover $X,XXX

GarrettBeck | 12 years ago | on: Magic Does Exist With “Uber-For-Flowers” Startup Bloomthat (YC S13)

I completely disagree with you. Local florists are to Target, as BloomThat is to Google Shopping Express. All the benefits of shopping online with delivery in less than 90 minutes. WAY more convenient than spending an hour driving, browsing, buying, driving.

And as Chad said below, they hold all florist to a high standard "to ensure quality across the board."

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