It's different because it doesn't force anyone to forgo other opportunities.
While we ask people to decide that day, we don't insist on it. As I explained earlier, if people have some specific reason they need more time, we've always given it to them.
And when people do accept, we never ask for more than a verbal "yes"; we don't make groups sign an LOI agreeing to participate.
I hear a lot of what goes on behind the scenes in these situations, and I can assure you that it's not merely out of a desire for administrative neatness that other seed firms give applicants offers that expire quickly. It is 100% certain they do it to pressure people into deciding before they can talk to us. That is not the intention, or the effect, when we ask people to decide that day.
Ah, I hadn't realize this had been hashed out in another thread. I took exception to that excerpt because it sounded pretty hand-wavy; I've read your justification of why you ask for an immediate decision, and it makes sense up until you start introducing the possibilities of multiple offers.
While we ask people to decide that day, we don't insist on it. As I explained earlier, if people have some specific reason they need more time, we've always given it to them.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=528064
And when people do accept, we never ask for more than a verbal "yes"; we don't make groups sign an LOI agreeing to participate.
I hear a lot of what goes on behind the scenes in these situations, and I can assure you that it's not merely out of a desire for administrative neatness that other seed firms give applicants offers that expire quickly. It is 100% certain they do it to pressure people into deciding before they can talk to us. That is not the intention, or the effect, when we ask people to decide that day.