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sunir
There is definitely a huge industry designed to funnel venture capital away from ventures into what is effectively the entourage, hangers on, groupies, leeches and skeezers.
duxup
"Another time, I got interviewed on a startup-support radio show, only to be asked to sign a letter afterwards saying they’d given us R188000 in airtime. (I didn’t sign.)"

What would the implications be if they signed?

rdiddly
I assume they would claim "You now owe us R188000." (about $15,000)
joejerryronnie
No, if the company ultimately became a huge success, the radio station would claim $15,000 in very early equity.
sonnyblarney
My guess is that it would be a tax write off.

They'd have little chance of securing that value in equity or whatever, and probably impossible to claim it as revenue.

I mean they could do those things but it would be crazy.

But they could try write off a 'loss' (something of value they gave away) as a tax shield.

ttul
Back in the dot com era, there were many hangers-on who cashed in on the mania as various types of leaches. They were characterized by their use of buzz words while not possessing the slightest comprehension of concepts underlying the terminology.