Angelgate
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The following has been lifted and edited, very slightly, from Wikipedia, the free (crowdsourced) encyclopedia, as it’s a brilliant expanation of what’s been happening.
I wouldn’t normally lift like this, but as it’s Wikipedia at could be wiped or changed in passing at any moment. here’s the link to the original: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelgate
Angelgate is a controversy[1] surrounding allegations of price fixing and collusion among a group of angel investors in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The scandal began after Michael Arrington, editor of the TechCrunch publication, wrote in his blog that he had been turned away from a secret meeting among so-called “super angels” he knew,[2] held at Bin38, a wine bar in San Francisco’s Marina District.[3] Arrington said that after the meeting, he had been informed by two of the attendees that the investors had discussed how to fix low valuations for new start-up companies, and how to keep better-funded venture capitalists from investing.[4]
The blog became the subject of discussion among the Silicon Valley start-up community over the next several days.[5][6] Investor Ron Conway, whose business partner attended the meeting, wrote an email highly critical of the angels involved and called the event “despicable and embarrassing”.[7] Dave McClure, a well-known angel present at the event,[5] wrote in a blog that Arrington’s account was inaccurate, and a “tweet” (later deleted) complaining about Conway.[8] Chris Sacca, another attendee of the meeting, wrote a lengthy email that defended the participants and was critical of Conway, which was also leaked to TechCrunch.[9]
Reports arose that the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation began reviewing the incident.[10]
There was skepticism that there was actually any collusion, or that price fixing could succeed if it was attempted.[1][11][12] The event also gave rise to various online cultural phenomena. Among other things there was a flash mob at the wine bar, a Hitler Downfall parody, a spike in the establishment’s google rank, a number twitter jokes[3] (compiled on question-and-answer site Quora), and so-called “fakeplans” for super-angel meetups on site plancast.com.[5] On Monday, September 27, Ron Conway, Dave McClure, Chris Seca, and others appeared at a panel discussion hosted by Arrington at his “TechCrunch Disrupt” conference in San Francisco[13][14] where, despite Arringon’s prodding, they avoided a “Jerry Springer moment”.[15]
References
- Alexei Oreskovic (September 22, 2010). “Investor conspiracy theory grips Silicon Valley”. Reuters.
- Russell Garland (September 24, 2010). “The Daily Start-Up: “AngelGate” Escalates”. Wall Street Journal.
- Paolo Lucchesi (September 24, 2010). “AngelGate meeting scandal gives Bin 38 lots of free publicity, punchlines, and a Hitler parody.”. San Francisco Chronicle.
- Jameson Berkow (September 23, 2010). “The secret rulers of Silicon Valley”. National Post.
- Maggie Shiels (September 23, 2010). “‘Angelgate’: A tech conspiracy?”. BBC.
- “After Quiet Dinner, Angels Get Indigestion”. New York Times. September 22, 2010.
- Patrick Hoge (September 23, 2010). “Ron Conway slams ‘super angels’ hard”. San Francisco Business Times.
- Ryan Singel (September 24, 2010). “Showdown! Angels, Arrington to Go Mano a Mano“. Wired Magazine.
- Michael Arrington (September 26, 2010). TechCrunch. Angelgate: Chris Sacca Responds.
- Patrick Hoge (September 23, 2010). “FBI reportedly looking into Angelgate“. San Francisco Business Times.
- Dan Primack (September 22, 2010). “Super-angels have dinner, all hell breaks loose”. Fortune Magazine.
- Alex Salkever (September 24, 2010). “AngelGate or Not, Controlling the Market in Hot Startups Is Impossible”. Daily Finance.
- Nitasha Tiku (September 27, 2010). “How Michael Arrington’s School of Friendship Journalism Led to ‘AngelGate’”. New York Magazine.
- Tomio Geron (September 27, 2010). “‘AngelGate’ Players Come Face To Face, But Fireworks Are Few”. Wall Street Journal.
- Jessica Guynn (September 27, 2010). “‘AngelGate’ disrupts TechCrunch conference but no ‘Jerry Springer’ moment”. Los Angeles Times.
External links
- “A blogger walks into a bar” – Arrington’s blog entry
- Subject: Super Angels Gathering – Ron Conway’s letter (reproduced in TechCrunch)
- What are the best Bin 38 meeting jokes? – Quora compilation of meeting jokes
So there you have it. Why does it matter? Well aside of the money and legality, which are all alluded to above, I think it shows the power that these new startup incubators like Y-Combinator are having.
It probably also tells us a lot about TechCrunch too.
Related articles by Zemanta
- The Panel That’s Definitely, Maybe Not About AngelGate (techcrunch.com)
- AngelGate: Chris Sacca Responds To Ron Conway (Michael Arrington/TechCrunch) (techmeme.com)
- Collusion Charges Still Linger Over `AngelGate’ (cbsnews.com)
- AngelGate Is “100 Percent Accurate,” Says Michael Arrington (Connie Loizos/PE Hub Blog) (techmeme.com)
- AngelGate Principals Move On to Damage Control (gigaom.com)
- AngelGate: Send in the clowns (feldmanfile.blogspot.com)
- At Disrupt, Super Angels Squirm, But Avoid a Jerry Springer Moment (wired.com)
- A Showdown of the Super Angels (blogs.wsj.com)
- Super Angels Dance on the Head of a Techcrunch Pin (wired.com)
Tags: entrepreneurs, journalism, Technology & Telecoms 2
tech & telecoms | claireatwaves | 
September 30, 2010 11:20 am | 
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