erin griffith Profile picture
Jul 28, 2021 9 tweets 5 min read Read on X
the tech buzzword hype cycle plays out the same way every time.

FIRST, a startup breaks out and VCs rush to fund it.
then a bunch more startups spring up
now the big tech companies need a strategy. maybe they make a big splashy hire or launch a new division
Investors are suddenly experts on the topic
Someone launches a dedicated fund
the mainstream media catches on nytimes.com/2021/07/10/sty…
Bring on the conferences, service providers, consultants... the works
Lastly, the brands arrive, ruining everything
All the initial excitement and momentum quickly fades. A new buzzword emerges. Everyone moves on.

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More from @eringriffith

Jan 23
A startup called ON Platform, once known as GameOn, raised $80m in funding from investors including celebs like Snoop Dogg and Joe Montana.

Today its founder, Alexander Beckman, and his wife, Valerie Lau, were arrested for fraud.

Some of the craziest details from the indictment...
GameOn was founded in 2014 and based in SF. It provided an AI chatbot for pro sports teams and luxury brands.

Beckman's alleged lies start with his background: He told investors his past company sold for just under 100m when it actually sold for less than $2m.
Per the indictment, he also:
-described non-existent revenue
-inflated cash balances
-made up customers
-used the names of 7 real people (with fake email addresses and signatures) to share this false info with investors.
Read 10 tweets
Aug 4, 2023
Crazy lawsuit from an investor - Softbank - against a startup - IRL.

Softbank invested $150m in 2021 ($25m went to insiders) on the claim that IRL had 12m monthly users.

But the company was spending 50k a month on a bot army and the app was "a virtual ghost town." Image
Employees literally creating Jira tickets to "Add Fake Users & Fake Chats" to the platform. Image
The conflict in these cases (like theranos, ftx, headspin and others) comes down to diligence. How did supposedly sophisticated investors get duped?

Here Softbank says it commissioned a third party report that showed IRL had only been downloaded 9m times... Image
Read 5 tweets
Nov 18, 2022
Once again, I am outside the courthouse in San Jose at an ungodly hour.

Today Elizabeth Holmes will be sentenced for defrauding investors at Theranos.
Here’s our story on Holmes’s letters of support as well as sentencing recommendations from both sides:

nytimes.com/2022/11/17/tec…
The gang’s all here, including Mike, a spectator who came to every day of the trial and has his tickets to prove it.
Read 25 tweets
Nov 11, 2022
New from @yaffebellany and me: How did FTX's investors let this happen?

Well,

nytimes.com/2022/11/11/tec…
@yaffebellany SBF told them that he didn't want oversight -- investors should "support him and observe."

None joined the board. None were given infor about Alameda's dealings a/FTX. Now, they're gobsmacked the visionary wunderkind they backed could have done this.

nytimes.com/2022/11/11/tec…
@yaffebellany Oh, and this is how he fundraised, according to one of his top execs. Image
Read 4 tweets
Nov 10, 2022
New from me: The tech layoff letters all sound the same -- CEOs blame themselves for overhiring.

Here's a look at how tech's talent wars turned into 100,000 lost jobs (and counting).

nytimes.com/2022/11/10/tec…
Everyone thought the pandemic boom times would keep going, and they staffed up accordingly. Facebook / Meta doubled staff over 3 years. Robinhood headcount grew 6x. Hello corporate bloat. Image
Even those who expected a post-pandemic pullback underestimated the extent. Past bubble panics have been short-lived. (see The Tech Bubble That Never Burst nytimes.com/interactive/20…) People were slow to accept that this pullback one will be deeper and last a lot longer.
Read 5 tweets
Nov 23, 2021
🩸We're here outside the courthouse for US v Holmes again.🩸
We're in the courtroom and Elizabeth Holmes is set to testify for a third day.

NYT's liveblog of the events is live here ⬇️ nytimes.com/live/2021/11/2…
Read 9 tweets

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