Suing a company you funded is extreme enough that doing it even once attracts a reputation. Would future founders considering potential investors assume that Kalanick was so far out of line that there's no way anything similar could happen to them? Or would they think that there's probably blame on both sides, and there are better investors around?
Why does funding a company have to mean that you are forever beholden to the CEO's bad decisions? Extreme this is not, and founders should take this as a signal that Benchmark will bring reason to the board.
>Why does funding a company have to mean that you are forever beholden to the CEO's bad decisions?
Huh? It doesn't?
Remember CEO=founder in this case. It's not "Benchmark will keep your board in line", it's "Benchmark might sue you".
Exactly.
It does. Benchmark played along with Kalanick until they realised this guy isn't in for making money (right now) but highly egoistic like Bezos to build a global economy. But now that they're suing the guy whom they supported for fraud means they play at crucial right time and no Founders vision matters to them!
Re:The Uber Dilemma
by ScottBurson on Monday August 14, 2017 @03:34PM
(#15011999)
Agreed. Speaking strictly personally, as a wannabe entrepreneur dreaming of billions, this doesn't give me the feeling I should avoid Benchmark.
According to the article Sequoia had a long standing willingness to play hardball. A reputation earned through consistent long term behavior.
It's hard to see how a one time event in extreme circumstances leads to a change in reputation. Presumably any rational founder would assume that any rational VC firm would act the same way in similarly extreme circumstances. One doesn't earn a reputation by being struck by lightning or spraining your ankle falling over a turkey in a city street or any unrepeated unlikely events.
And, if you believe you can clearly prove "fraud, break of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty" presumably you are only discouraging bad actors with whom you wouldn't want to get into bed with in any event.