Venture Capital Funding – Optimal Strategy

Gotta laugh at this article on Slashdot. “LiftPort Wants To Build Space Elevator On the Moon By 2020”. Some wag comments about a time-frame of 8 years:

8 years is exactly the right amount of time.
It’s less than 10 years, which is sufficient to attract VC funding
But it’s also greater than 5 years, which is long enough to avoid any expectation of progress or success.

Just how close to the truth is it?