

General Catalyst Backs Roughdraft.VC To Fund Student-Run Startups In Boston - zachh
http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/12/general-catalyst-backs-roughdraft-vc-to-fund-student-run-startups-and-ideas-in-boston/

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JohnExley
This makes a lot of sense to me. As Roughdraft's Peter Boyce pointed out,
young founders need less and less funding to get started.

This whole thing reminds me of the recruiting craze in the NBA. Remember when
guys like KG really drove the trend of skipping college and going straight to
the NBA? Recruiters started looking earlier and earlier to find the best
talent. When I was like 14 I remember starting to see SLAM magazine articles
about the best middle school players in the country. Recruiters tried to
befriend the most talented earlier and earlier.

This is what the recent news of Roughdraft.VC and Dorm Room Fund remind me
of... VC's trying to find founders who aren't looking for funding _and_ maybe
haven't founded something yet. And the best way to find them? The students on
campus who are the most helpful and have built the most trust with these
"about-to-be-founders".

That LITERALLY is the definition of Peter Boyce.

For those who don't know the story of Boyce, he is the essence of everything
startups at Harvard. If you are working on a startup there, you have probably
received advice/feedback from him -- or been told to reach out to him. I
believe in Roughdraft.VC, and I believe in Peter Boyce.

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jacoblyles
A few VC firms put together companies with their own ideas and then invest in
them. This is basically the model of betaworks. GC has done this a few times,
if I remember correctly. Getting into seed funding is a good way to increase
your talent rolodex if you want to do that sort of thing.

It also helps your VC firm get repeat customers down the line. Fund a
founder's first company and they'll come to you with their second and third.

It makes a ton of sense.

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jacoblyles
It looks like GC is doubling down on the early seed funding model. First the
YC partnership, now this.

There's good economic logic to it (the same portfolio theory behind YC).

