Grace:
I originally moved from the educational field into the stock market because I became aware of the fact that start-ups in Canada are incredibly under-financed. In my innocence, I thought I might be able to have some impact on this, so started a small venture fund. Wow, what an education followed shortly thereafter.
Sorting the "copy-cats" and "me-too" companies from those that were on to something that might prove saleable took plenty of time and energy and I like to think that we did a good job of that.
Once involved with a few start-ups, a gigantic learning curve commenced. I learned very quickly that the list of problems that a start-up, (especially in tech land) can get into is endless.
Only a very few folks have the guts and the intellect to successfully get into the business of assisting start-ups and from my point of view, we need many more folks who can do this than currently exist. An economy is like a garden.... some plants die every fall and to keep the garden vibrant, we need to "re-seed" frequently. In my opinion, we do far too little of this in N. America (done getter in the US than up here, by the way).
I know Zeev only via the net, and although he and I have frequently been on opposite sides of a friendly discussion, I have a great deal of respect and admiration for his intellect and depth of understanding of the tech sector. I also admire him for getting involved with start-ups as I know first hand how difficult and trying it is to do this.
Did Zeev solicit or did he merely make you aware of an opportunity? Do we not develop friendships here on the net? Is it not appropriate to point out situations to those we think might be interested in looking at an early stage situation? And should we be critical of him when he does what he should do as a director of a company, which is to endeavour to keep it functioning and moving forward? And if you are not interested in getting involved, why not just say so rather than stirring up a controversy for him by making this an issue here in public?
Yes, I am aware of the fact that Zeev has been in the background trying to assist the company for quite a while. And while the company he is assisting isn't a fit at this end, I truly admire him for this activity.
Putting it in a nutshell, I am getting to hate how legalistic we are all getting to be. Cut him some slack for trying to do what we need much more of.
Sorry if this comes across as criticism, as it isn't meant to be that way. I just think Zeev should be applauded rather than being criticized for his actions and I want to be on record as feeling that way.
Best, Earlie |
