Most VC = 🐏🐏🐏
Having worked at a VC-backed startup and having founded a few companies, I have had the opportunity to interact with numerous VCs.
Very few of them are genuinely passionate about taking a long-term perspective and being aligned with the startup’s vision and values, the majority of VCs are driven by hype and market trends, leading them to overgeneralize and make inaccurate predictions.
If you need VC $, you should seek out VC partners who are truly aligned with your long-term vision and values, rather than those just chasing the latest trends.
Best in the game, IMO:
- Early: Peter Fenton, Matt Cohler
- Early-Growth: Brain Singerman
Things to keep in mind
- Most VCs are 🐏🐏🐏
- Most VCs are wrong most of the time, and most importantly, they have never been hugely right before (gotten huge returns).
- Most of them don’t have successful investments, yet almost all of them constantly tweet about trends and ideas all the time. (to get dealflow, network)
- They need Grand Slam returns, but most partners only care about their own career ladder: getting promoted to GP, raising a new fund, or being hired by a Forbes 500 company/ IPO-ready startup as VP+ (before having true return).
- They congratulate each other on raises, promotions, deals, and making it to the ‘30 Under 30’ or being on the Midas list… but none of it matters when it comes to whether their fund will have meaningful returns or not.
- VCs mention “Enduring Company” in their memos, but they are more than happy to sell their shares in the secondary market.
- Most VCs will dump/ghost you when you are no longer “the signal” for new funds or deal flow.
- VC feedback cycles are longer than builders’ feedback cycles.