Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Why the Lindhout Kidnap Story in Somalia is like a Startup You Shouldn't Invest In

As I am finishing the last chapter in my "Are You Fundable?" book - on "Vision Quest Startups" - I see this harrowing tale of a "venture" gone wrong.

While it seems like Amanda Lindhout was a driven but naive journalist, she was actually on a subconscious mission to relive the story of her mother's religious abduction 11 years earlier. 

(The Times omits this but it came up in the NY Post http://bit.ly/1397hjp.)

In my experience, Investors have seen plenty of these "Vision Quest" startup scenarios and the smart ones have a special radar for them. Generally, they are big losers because the founders tend to ignore market realities and are impossible to deal with. 

And then you have a Steve Jobs! So how do you tell the difference?

You'll have to read my book....

By the way, this is not an affliction dedicated to the young - it happens with mature folk too!

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/magazine/lindhout-kidnapping-somalia.html?_r=2&





This is my comment published in the New York Times.
http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/02/behind-the-cover-story-sara-corbett-on-collaborating-with-amanda-lindhout-to-tell-a-harrowing-tale/?comments#permid=3