Dreamers and scammers
For novelty reasons, I had been hanging on to all the scam notices I've received since getting incorporated. You know, the ones that pretend to originate from some official "compliance division" of the government requiring you to send a check because they managed to photochop a fake seal onto a bureaucratic-looking form. Today I decided they were a waste of space and finally tossed 'em.
It is extremely unfortunate that entrepreneurs get preyed on like so, and worse that these ploys probably have a good-enough ROI for the scammers to perpetuate them. A hundred bucks may not be a life or death sum of money, but it quickly snowballs out of control. If I had foolishly paid all those notices, my startup would be out over a grand in a just a few short months. That's cold, hard cash that could've gone towards product development, several hours of legal advice, or at least a lot of runway-extending ramen noodles and value meals (take your pick).
"A fool and his money are soon parted," yes, but entrepreneurs getting scammed actually hurts all of us. The fewest dollars generate the most value in the earliest days of a startup, and I wonder how many products and services have been stunted due to this madness, perhaps to the point of not even seeing the light of day.
Staying vigilant and talking about it protects us all - whether that means we consult a friend or a lawyer. Even if you have neither, there's always the trusty Google Search to shed a little light on the situation. I'd rather we see the better products and services today's startups are building, and more of them at that.
