Re:He’s start-ups' best friend
by hga on Thursday April 29, 2010 @09:29AM
(#1304318)
Division of labor.
He's found a handful of younger people including his 29 year old son who he trusts to do the idea due diligence and he focuses on the people part of the equation, both the founders he invests in (which everyone I respect agrees with, including myself :-) and the network that he's built to help everything work.
Someone who replies in 3 minutes to an emergency "saving throw" email and delivers the setup of a key meeting for a sale to Verizon the next day doesn't have time to do everything.
And as he and many others note, the initial idea is iffy; "no plan survives contact with the enemy" and you'll find that a whole bunch of startups have ended up changing something significant about their business plan on the way to success.
So bet on people and deal flow. It works for him and has worked for a number of famous VCs (especially the no BS ones that took little time to decide to invest in e.g. Apple and Sun).
He's found a handful of younger people including his 29 year old son who he trusts to do the idea due diligence and he focuses on the people part of the equation, both the founders he invests in (which everyone I respect agrees with, including myself :-) and the network that he's built to help everything work.
Someone who replies in 3 minutes to an emergency "saving throw" email and delivers the setup of a key meeting for a sale to Verizon the next day doesn't have time to do everything.
And as he and many others note, the initial idea is iffy; "no plan survives contact with the enemy" and you'll find that a whole bunch of startups have ended up changing something significant about their business plan on the way to success.
So bet on people and deal flow. It works for him and has worked for a number of famous VCs (especially the no BS ones that took little time to decide to invest in e.g. Apple and Sun).