Social:Angelgate

From HandWiki

Angelgate is a controversy[1] surrounding allegations of price fixing and collusion among a group of ten angel investors in the San Francisco Bay Area.[2]

Emergence

The issue

The scandal began in September 2010 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,[3] held at Bin38, a wine bar in San Francisco's Marina District.[4] The participants at the meeting, among other things, discussed how they could compete with other angels, venture capitalists, and the Y Combinator business incubator for the limited pool of worthy investment opportunities.[5] 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.[6]

The blog became the subject of discussion among the Silicon Valley start-up community over the next several days.[7][8] 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".[9] Dave McClure, a well-known angel present at the event,[7] wrote in a blog that Arrington's account was inaccurate, and a tweet (later deleted) complaining about Conway.[10] Chris Sacca wrote a lengthy email that defended the participants and was critical of Conway, which was also leaked to TechCrunch.[11]

Aftermath and critique

Reports arose that the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation began reviewing the incident.[12]

There was skepticism that there was actually any collusion or that price fixing could succeed if it was attempted.[1][13][14] 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 of Twitter jokes,[4] and so-called "fakeplans" for super-angel meetups on the site plancast.com.[7] On Monday, September 27, 2010, Ron Conway, Dave McClure, Chris Sacca, and others appeared at a panel discussion hosted by Arrington at his "TechCrunch Disrupt" conference in San Francisco[15][16] where, despite Arrington's prodding, they avoided a "Jerry Springer moment".[17]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Alexei Oreskovic (September 22, 2010). "Investor conspiracy theory grips Silicon Valley". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2226598520100923. 
  2. ↑ Mangalindan, JP (September 29, 2010). "Angel collusion: It's not necessarily a bad thing". Fortune Magazine. http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/09/29/angel-collusion-its-not-necessarily-a-bad-thing/?section=magazines_fortune. 
  3. ↑ Russell Garland (September 24, 2010). "The Daily Start-Up: "AngelGate" Escalates". Wall Street Journal. https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2010/09/24/the-daily-start-up-angelgate-escalates/. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Paolo Lucchesi (September 24, 2010). "AngelGate meeting scandal gives Bin 38 lots of free publicity, punchlines, and a Hitler parody.". San Francisco Chronicle. http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/paololucchesi/2010/09/24/angelgate-meeting-scandal-gives-bin-38-lots-of-free-publicity-punchlines-and-a-hitler-parody/. 
  5. ↑ Neyfakh, Leon (September 28, 2010). "Paul Graham of Y Combinator Pulls Back the Curtain on What Goes On At His Start-Up Factory". New York Observer. Archived from the original on October 3, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101003031222/http://www.observer.com/2010/media/paul-graham-y-combinator-pulls-back-curtain-what-goes-his-start-factory. 
  6. ↑ Jameson Berkow (September 23, 2010). "The secret rulers of Silicon Valley". National Post. http://business.financialpost.com/2010/09/23/fp-tech-desk-the-secret-rulers-of-silicon-valley/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Maggie Shiels (September 23, 2010). "'Angelgate': A tech conspiracy?". BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/maggieshiels/2010/09/angelgate_-_a_tech_conspiracy.html. 
  8. ↑ "After Quiet Dinner, Angels Get Indigestion". New York Times. September 22, 2010. http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/a-quiet-angel-investors-dinner-turns-noisily-public/. 
  9. ↑ Patrick Hoge (September 23, 2010). "Ron Conway slams 'super angels' hard". San Francisco Business Times. http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2010/09/ron_coway_slams_super-angels_hard.html. 
  10. ↑ Ryan Singel (September 24, 2010). "Showdown! Angels, Arrington to Go Mano a Mano". Wired Magazine. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUS196786161120100925. 
  11. ↑ Michael Arrington (September 26, 2010). "AngelGate: Chris Sacca Responds To Ron Conway". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2010/09/26/angelgate-chris-sacca-responds-to-ron-conway/. Retrieved 5 June 2013. 
  12. ↑ Patrick Hoge (September 23, 2010). "FBI reportedly looking into Angelgate". San Francisco Business Times. http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2010/09/fbi_reportedly_looking_into_angelgate.html. 
  13. ↑ Dan Primack (September 22, 2010). "Super-angels have dinner, all hell breaks loose". Fortune Magazine. http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2010/09/22/super-angels-have-dinner-all-hell-breaks-loose/. 
  14. ↑ Alex Salkever (September 24, 2010). "AngelGate or Not, Controlling the Market in Hot Startups Is Impossible". Daily Finance. http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/angelgate-or-not-controlling-the-market-in-hot-startups-is-impo/19646924/. 
  15. ↑ Nitasha Tiku (September 27, 2010). "How Michael Arrington's School of Friendship Journalism Led to 'AngelGate'". New York Magazine. http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/09/techcrunchs_michael_arringtons.html. 
  16. ↑ Tomio Geron (September 27, 2010). "'AngelGate' Players Come Face To Face, But Fireworks Are Few". Wall Street Journal. https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2010/09/27/angelgate-players-come-face-to-face-but-fireworks-are-few/. 
  17. ↑ Jessica Guynn (September 27, 2010). "'AngelGate' disrupts TechCrunch conference but no 'Jerry Springer' moment". Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/09/angelgate-disrupts-techcrunch-conference-but-no-jerry-springer-moment.html. 

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