🗞️ Media Culpa
The news that the government is proposing an increase in sophisticated investor thresholds lit up LinkedIn in a way that Twitter scandals used to. But it increasingly looks as though the media and the ecosystem have run ahead of themselves on the yarn.
A journalist's hunch is not unlike a VC's gut feel. But while journalists are in the business of facts, startup investors are in the business of faith in founders and speculation.
A couple of weeks ago, a story surfaced in the Australian Financial Review declaring that the government was planning to lift the financial thresholds for individuals to qualify as "sophisticated investors", which allows them to invest in riskier investments such as startups.
The story spread like wildfire in the VC and startup ecosystem. It didn't take long for people to realise the devastating impact this would have on early stage funding and angel investing.
But it increasingly looks as though the media and the ecosystem have run ahead of themselves on the yarn.
