1. Spent lots of time and money(thousands of pounds) trying to meet with CEO of hedge fund just to get one of the domains in their portfolio. 2. Failed. 3. Explained that he is co-founder of twillio europe. 4. Used above story as some kind of self proof of ability 5. Decided that he failed YC interview because of a silly mistake 6. Drew lots of lessons and conclusions.
yawn
...I would think that depends on how many thousands of dollars you have in the bank. It would be nuts to do this if you had no money to your name and were struggling to make ends meet, sure. But if you're got a high disposable income, or you know you can make it up with work, why not?
I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Stevie, and I know nothing about his financial situation. I suspect neither do you. Regardless, you could easily cover the cost of a last-minute LHR-NYC flight with three, four days of contracting (I should know, I used to freelance iOS in London). Doesn't seem quite so crazy when you frame it like that.
What I probably wouldn't do is throw around the idea that simply because somebody buys a ticket on a whim that makes them a manic depressive.
Salespeople who are too aggressive frighten prospects, and his target is a billionaire who hears from all sorts of people who want something from him. If he were sincerely after the Zap name, I think he would have been much better off pursuing it consistently over 6 months, rather than in a dramatic, unprepared rush. Especially since this particular name is a nice-to-have.
Ask yourself, would you say this to Stevie's face? If the answer is no, move on. If the answer is yes, I'm sure he'd oblige.
For the record, Stevie is one of the most talented and well respected members of the UK tech community, so once again, think before you comment.
I'm also concerned about the message this sends to others -- that since Stevie suddenly spent massively to try and coerce his way to meeting someone who could release the domain his company probably doesn't really need, that this is acceptable behavior we should all try.
Just because a person is highly accomplished and respected doesn't mean that person can't be mentally ill. John Nash Jr was.
There is a relationship between bipolar disorder and creativity; Jameson's Touched with Fire is a good exploration of that. Steve Blank of Lean Startup fame suggests that many founders come from dysfunctional families, because a chaotic home environment makes people comfortable operating in chaos later on:
http://steveblank.com/2009/05/18/founders-and-dysfunctional-...
Living in San Francisco and having just spent the weekend mentoring 100 would-be founders at Lean Startup Machine, it's my firm opinion that entrepreneurs are universally odd ducks. They are my people and I love them, but if they were particularly normal they would have found a lower-risk way of making a living. I think it's especially useful for entrepreneurial types to pay attention to mental health; some kinds of crazy are useful and to be honored, but some are just slowing you down.