[pmjordan]

It's only suspicious because the comments are essentially non-specific praise and add no actual value to the reader. They look like cheap shills; if they are in fact shills, that's not exactly inspiring to potential applicants.

There's nothing wrong with promoting the programme here, of course, the weird comments just seem... weird.

[squirrel]

I made one such comment below, whose main point was "I am participating in this". I thought it would be useful for readers to know this is a real programme with real mentors and not, for instance, some kind of scam. (I don't know anything about the investors, so didn't comment on that aspect.)

My karma is indeed low - no time for big contributions - but I'd hoped some folks would know me from youDevise's sponsorship of HN meetups in London.

If mine wasn't a useful comment or led to confusion, I apologise.

[pmjordan]

First of all: I am one of the people you are trying to reach with this sort of programme. My comments are intended as feedback on how you present yourselves, I'm not trying to to imply anything about the quality of the programme or the people involved. I certainly didn't come into this discussion with any kind of negative bias.

If I'm giving up equity, especially for relatively little money, I want to know I'm getting a good deal. pclark's comments on this thread are basically spot-on in this regard, so I don't need to add much. These concerns do need to be addressed though.

I thought it would be useful for readers to know this is a real programme with real mentors and not, for instance, some kind of scam.

It's good to know that it isn't a scam, though that's kind of a minimum requirement. I'm curious about the alignment of interests between investors (who presumably own the equity the startups are giving up) and mentors (who seem to be doing the leg work).

Quoting your comment elsewhere: "I am helping these guys out as a mentor. Seems like a good idea."

With all due respect, that doesn't sound overly enthusiastic. From your comment above, it sounds like you don't receive equity. Do Springboard pay you? If not, what's in it for you, other than karmic retribution and a CV bullet point? Why allow Springboard to advertise using your name?

These questions may seem nosy, but I think they are legitimate concerns. I'm trying to understand the "product" here.

[squirrel]

I don't run the programme and am not particularly trying to "reach" you. Just think it is of interest to the HN community and worth an upvote and brief comment.

I don't receive equity and don't have anything to do with the investors in the programme. I do expect to make contacts with interesting people who have an entrepreneurial bent - generally, people I meet like this help me learn things my team and I can use, and sometimes they help me find people I can hire. Those are two of my main missions as CTO of youDevise.

Springboard don't pay me. I'm not aware they're advertising using my name, but if they were I'd ask them to include my company's name too, which would help us to get better known and (I hope) attract more smart people to apply for jobs with us.

Edit: They _are_ advertising with my name! http://springboard.com/douglas-squirrel/ The bio's a bit tired but it does mention my company, which is good enough for me.

[pmjordan]

Helpful information, thank you!

I don't run the programme and am not particularly trying to "reach" you.

I realise that; my questions aren't necessarily directed at you specifically.

[jdbradford]

Phil

All points well made and accepted.

I can assure you we are not a scam - I would hope that the inclusion of Cambridge University and NESTA would provide some credibility.

All of our investors are also included within the mentor list - but do not want to be specifically identified. Interesting our investors have much more to lose ($$$) than the mentors who are giving up their time.

All our mentors give up their time freely. We take a minimal stake to ensure sustainability - but the ultimate objective to help teams accelerate their businesses.

If you have any further questions, drop me a line at jon at springboard dot com.

[radu_floricica]

They're the real deal, but the HN culture of content-only comments isn't exactly widespread. They are probably just expressing enthusiasm.

[pmjordan]

It's not a massive deal, it just seems a bit odd. The HN crowd is the main market for something like this, so you'd think somebody there would have a clue about this site before promoting on it. Plus, this would be an opportunity to e.g. link to blog posts by previous participants describing their experience. I think that would probably be the most useful for potential applicants.

[amirmc]

I understand your point. I posted it here and been around long enough to (mostly) understand how HN works. That may not be true of all the others involved in the programme.

I've linked to a couple reviews by previous participants. In this thread at: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2221229