Curebit stealing the design (and assets!) from 37Signals is prompting this post. But its been in the making for a while.
Terms like “starup junkie” or “startup dude” or “serial entrepreneur” are just so sexy right now (or maybe always have been in SV for a while) that young entrepreneurs get this feeling that they are invincible, above everyone/everything else and that anything/everything is fair game. Ripping off a contractor, screwing over an employee, plain reneging a signed legal contract, buying services that they have no money in the bank to pay for etc. etc.
Hustling is one thing. Ripping people/ideas/IP off is another.
People make mistakes, but as is obvious in this latest (Curebit) case the entrepreneur in question has no qualms, tries to justify the means and is least bit perturbed. See this twitter thread: https://twitter.com/#!/davemcclure/status/163310899376041985 (with Dave McClure playing referee…. he happens to have recently funded Curebit).
Everyone will make mistakes, but own up to it, say an unconditional sorry and move on. I think every entrepreneur needs to go through ethics training. Thoughts?
