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by elmar 2493 days ago
:) well I posted on a FYI - For Your Information only angle.

My thoughts: seed valuations for YC Demo Day are probably on a all time high, VC's giving gifts to be able to get in rounds looks like something out of Silicon Valley HBO, ok I remembered everything on SV HBO is based on real life events.
2 comments
whoisjuan 2493 days ago
I think the most ridiculous thing is not even the gift, but the fact that it is a Tandem bike (just because of the name).

What's the rationale there? "Ohh their name is Tandem. Let's buy them a Tandem bike to convince them to accept our term sheet. It's our fiduciary responsibility to do this stupid thing".

For me, that's just a red flag. How little can you add to a company besides money, that you have to resort to this chaplinesque strategy?

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WillPostForFood 2493 days ago
Why not? Personal relationships are a part of why deals are made. Showing some whimsy and personal attention isn't going to hurt, and costs what? ~500?
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bch 2493 days ago
Not really your point, but if somebody gifted a $500 tandem/boat anchor for a $30MM co, that might indeed be a red flag. A $500 tandem is probably a boat anchor no matter what the circumstances are...
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mathattack 2493 days ago
This is the norm in business. It forces reciprocity. It’s why most sales orgs spend so much on business entertainment.
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bch 2493 days ago
I (think) I know what you’re saying, what I’m saying is that if I said I was interested in your billion dollar automobile startup, and bought you a car as a gesture, you might be excited, until I handed you the keys to a used 1998 Hyundai Excel.

Unless I really am missing the point, because a $500 bicycle really is a pretty cheap machine these days, let alone a $500 tandem.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai_Excel

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WillPostForFood 2493 days ago
It's the thought that counts right? Tandem is the name, they are gifted a tandem bike, which reinforces the symbolism of doing something together. I'd hope it would be perceived either neutrally, or generate some very small positive feelings, but not negatively.
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mathattack 2493 days ago
More that anything creates reciprocity. It’s why I am very wary of taking things from vendors.
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ymolodtsov 2493 days ago
It’s basically a joke. Jokes attract attention of other people. Investors need to set up a relationship with the founders.
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mandeepj 2493 days ago
> I think the most ridiculous thing is not even the gift, but the fact that it is a Tandem bike (just because of the name).

Similar to Governors convincing Bezos to open HQ2 on their state by writing product reviews on amazon.com, giant cactus and what not.

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Grustaf 2493 days ago
Why is a sense of humour a red flag? Founders are people too you know.
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austenallred 2493 days ago
> VC's giving gifts to be able to get in rounds looks like something out of Silicon Valley HBO

It's actually super common. I've probably received 20+ random gifts. Everything from shoes to jackets to bitcoin miners and bottles of wine (I don't drink).

If there's a $7.5m deal that will eventually be worth 10x that (say it returns $75m to the investor), a $200 tandem bike doesn't really move the needle.

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elmar 2493 days ago
> It's actually super common

I didn't know that, I knew that was normal practice on recruiting but I didn't imagined it on fundraising.

> that will eventually be worth 10x

The seed stage VC's are probably targeting more on the 100x - 1,000x range :)

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