Be a VC for the Day

Earlier this week I got a cold call from an entrepreneur; I had mistakenly picked up the phone, figuring it was my 4:30 call with a CEO in our portfolio.  He immediately launched into his pitch, and I lamely suggested that he send me a username and password for his demo, and I'd get back to him, as I really didn't want to be late on this call.  Portfolio companies take priority for VCs over potential portfolio companies, at least me.

Any ways, the entrepreneur starts bashing VCs, suggesting that they don't believe in or care about entrepreneurs really, and only in the money they make.  I interrupted him, and said, thanks, but I really needed to be on another call.  The entrepreneur, perhaps realizing this wasn't a good tactic, continued to say there were other VCs that do care about entrepreneurs and I was one of them.  That's nice that he felt that way, but I think it's a common misperception about VCs not caring about entrepreneurs.   I told him I still had to go, but please do send the information.  This entrepreneur probably thinks I am an asshole despite what he told me, as I haven't heard from him since.

While some of that rap is earned, I think it's generally not the case.   VCs live and die by the entrepreneurs they back.   Critical is the ability to "call the baby ugly" without destroying that entrepreneur's confidence.   Think about it: if entrepreneurs think VCs are assholes and have no redeeming traits that dramatically enhance the businesses VCs back, then they won't be VCs for very long, as good entrepreneurs would just avoid them like the plague.   Backing great entrepreneurs is what makes a VC "successful", more than anything else.   

VCs deeply care about entrepeneurs.    A lot of us write blogs that are pretty explicit about that caring(as I recently did about Bear and the PSD spirit) spend oodles of time helping their portfolio companies, and investigating ways to give our portfolio companies an edge.  We live the highs and lows that our portfolio companies go through.  We are often interrupting our families lives as necessary just like entrepeneurs do, and generally will do whatever we can to help our portfolio succeed.   If we didn't care, we'd leave the industry and do something else that values tact over performance, as dealing with entreprenerials (strong willed or otherwise) is not exactly the easiest thing to do.   Does it come as a surprise that VCs are not exactly the easiest to deal with either? 

So cut VCs some slack.  We are doing the best we can, given startup dynamics.   Give VCs a chance.  And you just might find you get what you need. 

One more thing I am going to throw out there:  I'd love to swap places with an entrepreneur for the day if I could, like the Prince and the Pauper, see what happens.  The VC, me, being the Pauper, of course.  Write me an email, explaining why you'd like to be a VC for the Day and how you could do my job better, and what I could do at your company to help you. 

My only condition is the entrepreneur blog about it as well or include their experience on my blog and you will have to agree that I can publish that as a comment below. Any submission you make to me via email (anonymous of course, unless you are comfortable otherwise), I will have the right to publish on this blog.  I will pick the best email pitch to do it.  Weight will be give to entrepreneurs that fit my criteria for investing, as that will make it more interesting for both of us. 

We'd do it sometime in May, so get your emails to me by the end of April.  The entrepreneur would come in to be a VC one day and join our investment team, and I'd go over as a an interim part of the company's management team another day, so unlike the Prince and the Pauper, this would be a bit more supervised.  Like in the Prince and the Pauper, no lasting or permanent decisions can be made and we should set some ground rules, but I think that'd be cool.   Like the book, I think that it will be hard to shed our prior roles and absorb the new one, but it'd be interesting, nonetheless. We'll see!    

P.S. to the entrepreneur that called me, email me back, and I'd be happy to talk to you as I appreciate your reminding and inspiring me about what this is all about anyways.  Thanks!

Comments

just wanted to commend you on your recent post. With the introduction of thefunded, there is a lot of negativity towards VC's when they are unable to respond or invest in an entrepreneurs deal. This challenge should allow entrepreneurs to see our side.

[Franchise Whale]

Great stuff! Thanks for sharing, one fresh
idea and you can change the world, keep
up the great work.

[Rob Town]

Thanks for the post. Very intriguing. I'd suggest reading John Assaraf and Murray Smith's new book "The Answer," which relates to many of your posts I noticed. Thanks again. Here's the link: http://www.readtheanswer.com/index.php?rta=blog

[Steve Brotman]

Thanks for the comments.

Unfortunately, no one grabbed the brass ring, and asked to Be a VC. Most entrepreneurs I think are too busy building their businesses. That's a good thing I think; on further reflection, I wouldn't want an entrepreneur looking to raise money to waste their time, even for a day in a VC office.

I am going to withdraw that offer for now, officially, as I don't think it's a fair trade on a time basis. I don't want entrepreneurs thinking they have to offer to trade places to get my attention.

I do hope this post was helpful, as it came from the heart, as all of my posts do. Thanks for continuing to read em even if I bounce off the wall sometimes.

Steve

[Senior Editor]

Interesting article. However being a VC for a day is always easier than being an Entrepreneur for a day.

It is also true many do not understand that VC is also very hard work.

There is just no simple system in place to connect the two. As you will always have more biz plans than VCs. So something has to give.

At the same time, what about hose with really super biz plans and simply cannot find one VC to take a look at it.

Then there is piracy.