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What We Can Learn from Bootup Labs

Tony Wanless

| April 27, 2010

Image by: Nordica Photography

As Bootup's Danny Robinson knows, the best solution is to confess, correct, and move on.

Fess up when you mess up. Every business blows it at some time or other. As Bootup director Danny Robinson knows, the best solution is to confess, correct, and move on.

The fury surrounding Vancouver start-up accelerator Bootup Labs should provide a lesson for all new or existing businesses who discover that their best-laid plans aren't exactly working, which is pretty much every business out there to varying degrees.

Basically, that lesson is that somewhere along the way, something is going to go terribly wrong.

And you have to take it and move on.

In Bootup's case, the snafu occurred when it brought in a cohort of digital start-up companies (its focus) from B.C. but also from various parts of the world, and promised to help them get their businesses going, as is its mission.

But Bootup funds this acceleration with investment from angel investors and venture capital companies with the understanding that it will make them investment ready at the end of their term in the lab.

Except earlier this year, that investment didn't come through when it was supposed to.

So in March, Bootup had to boot out four of the seven companies it took in last January.

Stuff Happens

These included one Phoenix company, Statusly, whose young founders moved to Vancouver for the program. When they were cut, they were almost destitute and managed to make their way home broke, bitter, and scuffed up by the experience.

One founder, Jamie Martin, wrote a devastating blog post about it that rocketed around the tech start-up community in North America.

Bootup founder and chief Danny Robinson tried to answer the blog, but spent a large amount of space correcting mistakes instead of apologizing, so apparently didn't come across as quite contrite enough.

And he's been getting kicked around by other tech bloggers for weeks because of it. In fact, bloggers not generally being the sort who pull their punches, some pretty nasty stuff was said out there.

Last week, Robinson posted a blog indicating that he had essentially prostrated himself before investors, mentors, and friends for advice on how he should have handled it. The results of that process was contained in his post, entitled "I made mistakes. I was wrong. Lessons Learned."

It contained a much stronger confession and apology. He had messed up and was more than sorry.

Of course this hasn't quelled completely the furor out there. Many bloggers in the start-up and acceleration biosphere are still taking the whole incident apart and, in some cases, looking for villains. Usually they turn their bile to Robinson.

But at least Robinson can hold his head high.

He messed up, and he 'fessed up. It won't happen again.

Now it's time to move on.

THE PHOTOGRAPHERS

Nordica are Vancouver wedding photographers, social media photographers and Vancouver headshot photographers who, although based in Vancouver, take projects worldwide.
Nordica (E-mail) Cole (E-mail | Blog), Jakob (E-mail | Blog)

Tags

Intellectual property and

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 2010-08-25 05:35.

Intellectual property and business law resources for start-ups http://www.pinskylaw.ca/Resources/resources.htm

Actually quite the opposite,

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 2010-05-07 22:33.

Actually quite the opposite, simply hate to see impressionable young entreprenerus getting suckered in by a hype machine wit no substance and inferior business practices. Think of the outcry as a community service message...

let me guess all you

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 2010-05-07 15:32.

let me guess all you complainers ...you never actually made something significant happen yourself , you just like to complain and pull people down. People make mistakes, some small some big - check the plank in your eye first. You think you could do a better job then go build something better if you think its so wrong what Bootup did. geeesh! Let it go already.

This whole fiasco is simply

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2010-05-04 08:06.

This whole fiasco is simply another amateur Vancouver-style smoke and mirrors investment hustle. It's a Gen X's version of the Howe Street scam. BC Business you do the community a disservice by glorifying these bandits.

So your upshot, Tony, is

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2010-05-04 01:29.

So your upshot, Tony, is that issuing and apology should be sufficient and that all should be forgiven? Well in your fantasy world perhaps. The financial world, however is based on trust, confidence and the reasonable expectations for competency and professionalism. Saying 'I'm sorry' after a major debacle, whether due to fraud or gross incompetence just doesn't cut it. These are career-ending events. Boris Mann announced today he is changing his career, maybe he sees the writing on the wall? Yes, it seems that you are connected to many people, including Lenny B., an advisor to, and investor in BooutOut. What's relevant and curious, however, is that none of these relationships are disclosed by you in your articles and yet your articles serve to support, protect, promote or flatter their subjects. Don't kid a kidder, Tony. The fact that you failed to disclose these relationships makes you a non-credible source. Have some journalistic pride at least... 'and fess up when you've messed up.'

Wow, you people are

Submitted by Tony Wanless on Mon, 2010-05-03 22:29.

Wow, you people are harsh. Since opinions are so strong on the matter it probably won't convince anybody, but this was not a "supportive" opinion piece. It said that Robinson had screwed up, apologized profusely for it, and promised to correct that kind of mistake in future.. If that is considered insignificant, then you haven't been following many other business leaders who do everything but apologize. This was a screw-up, not a fraud in the Enron/Madoff mode. As for the Wandler-Robinson-Wanless connection, what the heck does that mean? I've been around the tech scene in BC for some time, so it's likely that I know many people. Does knowing someone automatically imply one-dimensional thinking? It seems to me the real complaint here might be that I didn't mindlessly pillory Robinson, even though I didn't know any more facts than anyone else -- and couldn't hide behind anonymity while spewing my "opinion." But here is one fact I did know: I've screwed up several times in my life, often very publicly, so I probably understood very well the anguish Robinson was feeling when he wrote his apology. How about you people? Never messed up? If so, you're a rarity indeed. Tony Wanless

Bootup has every right to

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 2010-05-01 13:59.

Bootup has every right to rebuild their reputation, but I do not accept an apology as the move on point. The bootup blog says they will say what measures are taken to make sure this does not happen again so maybe we can wait until they describe those measures and then decide to move on. "I'm so sorry" is not the end, it's the beginning of the rebuilding. It will take years, and it should. Maybe they learned to have money before they promise it.

A biased article. Don't be

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 2010-05-01 12:28.

A biased article. Don't be sucked in BC Business readers! Simply connect the relationship dots to understand out why this piece was written and why it is supportive rather than objectively written.. Wanless interviewed Steve Wandler (a Bootup supporter and Robinson buddy) at Fusion. Very recently Wandler wrote a supportive blog article about Robinson's apology post and now, surprise, surprise, Wanless pens this supportive spin-doctor piece. Coincidence or not? You decide. BC Business Editors, it is becoming increasingly apparent that you need to elevate the level of professional journalism at your 'mag and 'zine. Pumping out biased, fluff pieces crafted to help out buddies or curry personal favours is not what your readers deserve or expect. Put an end to the lightweight journalism or perhaps consider renaming your product the 'BC Enquirer'.

A better 'solution' is to

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 2010-04-30 16:35.

A better 'solution' is to not "mess up" in the first place. The financial industry is no place to learn on the job. It is an unforgiving environment that does not have any tolerance for screw ups or wrong-doing. As the saying goes, "if you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen!"

Tony, was this a paid

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 2010-04-30 15:46.

Tony, was this a paid editorial or are you a personal friend and biased? Seriously, what happened here, and has been confirmed by admission, demonstrates a lack of basic business and financial acumen, not to mention common sense and business ethics. The assertion that "messing up and fessing up" is some kind of a panacea is nonsense. Ask any former investor in AIG, Nortel, Worldcom, Enron or Bernard Madoff Securities if they concur that "fessing up" made everything OK or business as usual or if they could ever have renewed confidence in the leaders who "messed up" in the first place. And did you for even a moment consider that many of the blog comments, however frank they may be, may be accurate assessments of the poor management and nonperformance of this incubator, who's track record stands at minus 4 companies and no wins after three intakes? Did you consider that perhaps the investment model is fundamentally flawed and that this May be nothing more than a badly executed dotcom echo play that cannot support its costs and will never amount to much. Statusly's domain auction price of approx. $900 is an unfortunate but real indicator of the downside or liquidation value of this portfolio. BC Business, we expect balanced reporting from you. As the Province's (former?) leading business magazine you should also consider more carefully the potential negative impact such misleading, one-dimensional opinion pieces may have on new entrepreneurs or naive investors.