Agreed wholeheartedly. I would have refused not because I don’t trust the guys (the context of being a ycombinator founder event would give me a lot of confidence), but because it’s clear they aren’t really doing anything to safeguard the phones very well. Looks to me like it’s ripe for someone pulling a social engineering hack on them and getting access to some high-value phones.
If they had a bank of PO Box style lockers (so some rudimentary physical security) and a security guard I’d be satisfied, but a couple fellow founders standing guard over a card table while also themselves being distracted by the meet-and-greet nature of the event is not my idea of a good place to leave my phone.
If they had a bank of PO Box style lockers (so some rudimentary physical security) and a security guard I’d be satisfied, but a couple fellow founders standing guard over a card table while also themselves being distracted by the meet-and-greet nature of the event is not my idea of a good place to leave my phone.