

Do Seattle VCs Suck? - tylerhwillis
http://www.techflash.com/Do_Seattle_VCs_suck_51271647.html

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jasonlbaptiste
Stop your whining about VCs. Choose wisely and understand the rules of
engagement. You lose freedoms, but gain capital in exchange. Many of the
companies we love today wouldn't have happened without them. Yes there are
asshole ones, but that comes with any profession.

If you whine about being rejected by VCs, odds are you bought into the " OMFG
I NEED TO RAISE CAPITAL LIKE THE COOL TWITTER DIGG KIDS", when in actual
reality you don't. You most likely need to finish getting your prototype ready
and have some trial customers. Also keep in mind, few markets and ideas are
"big enough" or even warrant VC funding.

~~~
webwright
"If you whine about being rejected by VCs, odds are you bought into the " OMFG
I NEED TO RAISE CAPITAL LIKE THE COOL TWITTER DIGG KIDS", when in actual
reality you don't."

That's pretty hyperbolic.

There are countless scenarios where a company simply cannot get built with
outside capital. Some problems need bigger teams or more time. Some teams
don't have salesfolks (and need 'em). Some teams don't have deep pools of
savings or require a higher-than-ramen burn rate to get to market.

And there is a BIG gap between having some "trial customers" and having a
company that can afford minimal paychecks. Any way you slice it, you need
money. If you don't have the cash or don't have the testicular fortitude to
dump your life savings into your business, you have to get it from somewhere
else. I'm not saying that some people don't mistakenly pursue VC when they
shouldn't. I'm saying that you shouldn't paint it with as broad a brush as you
have.

As a very concrete/personal example, RescueTime would simply not have survived
without VCs (who have been awesome to work with, by the way).

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rokhayakebe
In general tech entrepreneurs feel as if raising venture capital will validate
their idea, which is true up to a certain level.

The ultimate way to prove your idea is good, is to get traction. The ultimate
way to prove it is sustainable is to become ramen profitable and the best way
to prove it needs VC money is to show that your current staff just cannot
handle the amount of customers that keep coming day in/day out.

