TheFunded.com is an interesting site where people who have pitched VCs get to report on their experience. There was a big story on it in Wired this month.
Interested as I am in the entrepreneurship that
is was is the Internet, I’ve been looking over the posts and came across an interesting one, about Accel Partners:
We pitched Kevin Efrusy on taking a round and he provided excellent advice …Spot the albatross? I’ll point it out after the break.He liked what we were doing but suggested to NOT take funding since we were profitable.
He was concerned that our exit wouldn’t be high enough to justify their investment but thinks that we’d probably get acquired in the next year.
Being a serial entrepreneur I’ll certainly pitch Accel again and recommend them to others.
If I were Accel Partners, or any other VC, I would not fund this person. The plan should be to have a highly successful, over-the-moon business this time. Otherwise, you shouldn’t be looking for venture capital.
The culture of Silicon Valley is accepting of failure, and that’s a very good thing. But taking it to the point where people self-identify as “serial entrepreneurs” who plan on starting multiple businesses, modest successes and failures? Not so good.
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