Exactly what I thought. It doesn't look like they made even a minimal effort to actually create what they told the investor they were going to create. Sounds more like they slapped together a plausible-sounding story to con some guy out of a pile of cash, and tried to use standard startup investment stuff to shield themselves from liability for running a con.

Which also means that trying to take lessons from them seems kinda silly. If you're not trying to run a con, you don't need a web list to tell you how to not look like you're running a con.

The only one to take lessons from here is the investor. If you're new to investing, don't invest money in a random startup run by strangers based on a slick pitch. Do hire some people who know what they're talking about to do some due diligence. If you're putting a quarter mil at risk, it's worth at least spending a few grand to make sure they're legit.