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Comment by jaytaylor | Hacker News Reader

Inspiring story. Will be interesting to see what Chris is capable of if / when he's able to get access to more capital.

Are there VCs who invest in this sort of enterprise? The odds of getting a positive return seem favorable compared to many of the currently trendy software-only startups out there.

Also, I like Chris' tagline:

    Create value, not excuses.

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No, the returns aren't there to make infrastructure investments attractive to VCs.

A software startup can exit at 10x, an infrastructure investment won't.

I think the key difference is that infrastructure is more of a long term investment. We can return 10x’s but it’ll likely take a little longer than a software company would. However, i can make the case that we have a higher guarantee of delivering than a software company can.

"A little longer" == 25 years if your returns are 10% and grow 10% annually.

Other than than all true. Telecoms infrastructure is an utility play, steady long term returns. Something pension funds like, but they on the other hand don't like risky startups, so it's a challenge to get funded until you are established and have a solid track record.

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