Guy Kawasaki

For one of the Valley's most jinxed investors, Guy Kawasaki certainly has a lot of confidence in his own opinion. The Garage Technology Ventures boss, famed cheerleader for Apple during the Cupertino firm's least successful phase, bears a remarkable resemblance to the ill-tempered venture capitalist in this entrepreneur's account, below, of a pitch meeting gone horribly wrong. The summary: "Dude Yamaha", a sandal-wearing and backpack-toting investor with a Japanese brand for his surname, slams the supplicant's projector skills, interrupts impatiently and then walks out, saying the idea was "crap". Which it may well have been. But, for unnecessarily abusive behavior, congratulations, Guy Kawasaki, you're the latest winner of Valleywag's Silicon Valley Tool award. An entrepreneur's horror story, after the jump.

At first glance, he didn't appear intimidating. He was rounded, jolly, wore sandals, and kept his backpack nearby. "Hi, I'm Dude," he said. Wilford and I shook his hands and handed him our business cards. "I didn't bring one," he said.

But Wilford couldn't turn on the projector for a quick (and fun) introductory presentation. He had been successful manipulating tens of other projectors - as well every piece of technology he's ever touched - but this projector wouldn't work. "I want you to know that this reflects very badly on you," Dude said, not joking.

I introduced the technology and the business, and tried to keep the discussion quick and light (funny). It was an introduction that had captivated many others... but seemed only to agitate Dude... who checked his e-mail and sighed often throughout a barely endurable 180 seconds.

"Can we get to the technology now?"

Wilford opened his computer and put a demo of the technology on the screen. Before Wilford could utter much more than a sentence, Dude said, "Do you really think a mere mortal would use this?"

Wilford started showing more of the technology, but fifteen seconds later, he was stopped again. "So who, in their right minds would use something like this?" Dude asked.

We explained that though we had conceived of new and better ways to organize and synthesize data, our technology applications were mainstream, easy-to-use, and market-validated. We gave many use-case examples. Then we tried to move on...

"I don't buy it," he said. "Do you really believe that people use the Internet to connect with one another?" We gave examples of numerous online communities - dating, social, and work-related - where that was the case. "I don't buy it," he said. Then we tried to move on...

But there was no moving on. Dude had had enough. "It takes a lot to make a venture capitalist say no... I mean a lot... but this is an awful business idea and a waste of time."

Dude didn't have any patience. He stood up and said, "Fine! If you guys [his partners] want to outvote me and do the deal, then do it. I don't care. But I've had enough and I think this is crap. I really have to go." He grabbed his backpack and left the room.

[From an account of a meeting with a Silicon Valley venture capitalists, with names replaced, on Nowpublic]

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