Re:The Crowded Restaurant Theory and Why VCs Get It Wrong
by jschveibinz on Friday July 22, 2022 @12:06AM
(#32188408)
Early stage investing does indeed need to be done by specialists: small business experts/entrepreneurs with prior M&A experience/exits. These are the angels, and they want to help.
In my opinion and experience as an angel investor, there are typically three things missing from most tech startup investment opportunities I see. The founders usually lack:
1. Domain experience and expertise (5 years minimum)
2. Business knowledge and experience (understanding financials, prior team leadership, etc.)
3. Marketing and sales experience (how to build relationships, partnerships, work to find initial customers and make them happy, etc.)
The most successful startups are founded by people in their 30’s and 40’s. It’s because these folks have the necessary experience and expertise to run a business.
And yes, it is important to actually sell a product and make a profit. Cash flow keeps a business alive, not VC money. Most small businesses will exit through acquisition, and the value of the business will be directly tied to revenue, gross profit and net profit.
Re:The Crowded Restaurant Theory and Why VCs Get It Wrong
by hgsyndrome on Thursday July 21, 2022 @10:08PM
(#32187659)
Indeed, there are too many junior analysts these days interviewing founders and building deal pipelines for partners. They are so green yet so smug but once you do get to their bosses in the next round, you often realize that you've wasted your time as your deal gets shoved aside in favor of those that the partners bring in themselves. In the end, you are just practice fodder for the junior folks to cut their teeth...
In my opinion and experience as an angel investor, there are typically three things missing from most tech startup investment opportunities I see. The founders usually lack:
1. Domain experience and expertise (5 years minimum)
2. Business knowledge and experience (understanding financials, prior team leadership, etc.)
3. Marketing and sales experience (how to build relationships, partnerships, work to find initial customers and make them happy, etc.)
The most successful startups are founded by people in their 30’s and 40’s. It’s because these folks have the necessary experience and expertise to run a business.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1220545/founder-age-star...
And yes, it is important to actually sell a product and make a profit. Cash flow keeps a business alive, not VC money. Most small businesses will exit through acquisition, and the value of the business will be directly tied to revenue, gross profit and net profit.