How an investor who turned me down ended up sleeping on my couch | Hacker News Reader

How an investor who turned me down ended up sleeping on my couch

joel.is

33 pointsendtwist10 comments

Interesting story, though I think the title of this post could have been a lot more appropriate if he had stricken the word "how" and gone simply with "An investor who turned me down ended up sleeping on my couch." There's not much how here. Though I do agree, being kind and building karma is never a bad thing.

Right, the headline is misleading, at least to me. Sleeping on someone's couch usually means said sleeper is having a rough time and needs a roof over their head. I assumed this story was about an investor who turned Joel down, then hit a rough patch and ended up needing to sleep on Joel's couch out of the necessity of shelter.

Still, a good story.

I doubt Jon has hit a rough patch - perhaps more like, staying with a friendly tech entrepreneur whilst in town rather than spending another night in a hotel room

Right, that isn't what I got from the title though.

Right. Jon often lives on the road and spends a ridiculous amount of time helping startups and startup programs. Definitely a 'hard time' in terms of commitment (particularly if you ask his wife;) but far from hard times in the economic sense.

LMAO. If I crashed on the couch, it is because I thoroughly enjoy meeting and hanging out with smart startup founders and hanging out with friends.

I can reassure you that having just returned from staying at the Intercontinental in Moscow with GOAP - I am not having a rough time.

Glad to hear it!

>I was very naive and looking back at some of the things I did and the way I wrote emails or thought about building the startup leaves me feeling grateful for how much I’ve been able to learn in the last few years.

One of the things I just learned is how much better that sentence sounds than the kind that has 'cringe' in it.

Although Jon refused us, he was kind enough to spend over 30 mins giving me feedback. Of course rather than listen, I was spending the 30 mins trying to convince him to give us a shot.

I remember exactly where I was during the call. Good times.

I am happy I learnt early never to bun bridges. You'll never know when you might need to cross.

generating good karma is a shitload more fun...and pays off

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