Getting The Story Straight
I am not commenting on the rumors about Wallstrip being acquired. I guess time will tell if they are accurate or not.
But let's get our facts straight.
I did not invest $500k into Wallstrip. The Gotham Gal and I did put some money into it but it was an order of magnitude less than the number that's being reported.
Union Square Ventures has not invested in web video content (not yet anyway) but I felt that through a small personal investment in a web video startup I could gain some much needed insight into what's working and what's not working in web video. I've learned a lot about both through our investment in Wallstrip. Plus the team (Howard, Jeff, Adam, Lindsay, and the rest of the crew) has been a joy to work with.
In addition, I have not, did not, and will not negotiate with anyone to sell the company. That's for Howard and his team to do if they want. I am simply an angel investor in Wallstrip who has provided some advice and counsel from time to time. I appreciate that people think VCs like me make all this stuff happen, but that's just not true.
one more for the list.
all in the execution, great job ladies and gents.
Posted by: curmudgeonly troll | May 14, 2007 at 08:54 AM
Fred you forget that VCs run everything...including the World Bank, the IMF and the Trilateral commission.
No wait...that's hedge fund manager. VCs are the guys on the grassy knoll.
Posted by: Jerry | May 14, 2007 at 09:17 AM
Fred,
This is the best response to a speculation I had ever seen.
Posted by: Vijay | May 14, 2007 at 09:21 AM
Well said. Thanks.
Posted by: Jeff Marks | May 14, 2007 at 10:21 AM
Tech Crunch sinks to new low. Duncan has been on record hating wallstrip and has no experience of success writing or starting companies.
If this were true about us, I would hope that TechCrunch could congratulate a team that busted their ass to create value. They are supposed to be covering web 2.0 news
There are very strong reviews and the information on our angel round was all over the web. Duncan just rushed to make fun of a deal he knows nothing about.
Lazy post and Duncan adds no insight.
Posted by: howard Lindzon | May 14, 2007 at 10:59 AM
After taking a Wallstrip break during finals last week, I felt compelled enough to write Lindsay an email congratulating her on a show that is always fun to watch. To my surprise, I received a very nice reply. Wallstrip is fantastic - Wallstrip? Long baby, long.
Posted by: Shah Ullah | May 14, 2007 at 12:33 PM
Can you have an order of magnitude LESS? :-)
Posted by: Adam Lashinsky | May 14, 2007 at 03:39 PM
This is a great post Fred, well done!
Alex
Posted by: Alex Iskold | May 14, 2007 at 05:20 PM
"Can you have an order of magnitude LESS? :-)"
Sure, 50k.
Posted by: Tom | May 14, 2007 at 08:41 PM
Fred,
How do your LPs feel about you making angel investments? Is there some kind of carveout or understanding that allows you to make angel investments on the side?
Just curious,
TD
Posted by: TD | May 15, 2007 at 02:43 AM