Great post, and very fair review. I only mentioned it briefly in my post; however, what I laid out applied heavily to web start-ups.
Medical, biotech, clean tech and brick-and-mortar companies benefit a bit more from experience than the web sector. :-) Again great post. Your interpretation of the VC sector is spot on -- especially regarding the position being atypical :-)
- Scottt
Ryan Graves
· 1 year ago
Solid post Mark. Glad you decided to re-write/re-post it!
Guy Kawasaki
· 1 year ago
Two points of clarification. First, I don't say the one should be an entrepreneur before becoming a venture capitalist. I say that one needs operating experience--a startup and a big company are both fine. What isn't good is going straight from school (undergrad or grad) going straight to a VC firm.
Second, I said that young people should not become VCs--for the reason I just discussed: a lack of hands-on, operating experince. I did not say they should not be entrepreneurs.
"Scott disagrees with Guy's assessment that young people typically do not make good venture capitalists. I agree with Scott. Indeed, if you look at many of the most successful firms on the Nasdaq or the "hottest" upcoming stars, many (if not most) of these companies were started by students or young professionals that had the drive, ambition and perhaps experience to develop a product and demand in the marketplace."
Indeed, young entrepreneurs without a proven background without a proven technology and without a proven business model are some of the best bets.
Guy Kawasaki
Mark
· 1 year ago
Guy, thanks for stopping by and clarifying your viewpoint. As I admitted above, I haven't read the book, so I can't speak to what your views are on the subject, except what I read on Scott's review and your clarification above. In this post, I'm mainly just explaining my viewpoint on the discussion, b/c it has come up quite a bit.
Overall, I really don't disagree with what you're saying. I still think it may be a little too broad of a statement to say young people shouldn't be VC's. I see your point, but it's hard to accept such a generalization. Moreover, what constitutes "young"? Is there a certain age or years of experience one should have b/f becoming a VC? Does one person's experience constitute being a better investor than mine? Maybe; maybe not. To your point about being a VC coming straight out of school, as you know, a lot of folks gain that quality experience while in school whether they work while in school or are a part of a start-up or whatever. I'm not putting words in your mouth, but I translate what you're saying to apply to the typical I-banker type who thinks they are a great investor because they've been an Excel Monkey for five years while stationed to a cubicle on Wall St. Maybe that's not what you're getting at, but if it is, I agree.
All Comments
Medical, biotech, clean tech and brick-and-mortar companies benefit a bit more from experience than the web sector. :-) Again great post. Your interpretation of the VC sector is spot on -- especially regarding the position being atypical :-)
- Scottt
Second, I said that young people should not become VCs--for the reason I just discussed: a lack of hands-on, operating experince. I did not say they should not be entrepreneurs.
"Scott disagrees with Guy's assessment that young people typically do not make good venture capitalists. I agree with Scott. Indeed, if you look at many of the most successful firms on the Nasdaq or the "hottest" upcoming stars, many (if not most) of these companies were started by students or young professionals that had the drive, ambition and perhaps experience to develop a product and demand in the marketplace."
Indeed, young entrepreneurs without a proven background without a proven technology and without a proven business model are some of the best bets.
Guy Kawasaki
Overall, I really don't disagree with what you're saying. I still think it may be a little too broad of a statement to say young people shouldn't be VC's. I see your point, but it's hard to accept such a generalization. Moreover, what constitutes "young"? Is there a certain age or years of experience one should have b/f becoming a VC? Does one person's experience constitute being a better investor than mine? Maybe; maybe not. To your point about being a VC coming straight out of school, as you know, a lot of folks gain that quality experience while in school whether they work while in school or are a part of a start-up or whatever. I'm not putting words in your mouth, but I translate what you're saying to apply to the typical I-banker type who thinks they are a great investor because they've been an Excel Monkey for five years while stationed to a cubicle on Wall St. Maybe that's not what you're getting at, but if it is, I agree.