One of the things I've always wondered was would Airtime have worked if Parker had decided to cap initial investment at a few hundred thousand dollars or less. He would have failed quickly, he would have known if it was a real product, and he might have got devs willing to go for equity (not the riskiest gamble as startups go and would have bought more commitment than a million dollars up front). Anyone tying their fate to a startup would not leave after launching the product.

It always felt like Parker tried to buy success or worse, didn't even want to buy success just wanted to buy a hot startup as a lifestyle choice.