
The Arrogant VC: Why VCs are disliked by entrepreneurs - peter123
http://venturehacks.com/articles/arrogant-vc?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nivi+%28Nivi%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
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tptacek
Or you could just poke around TheFunded.com for a couple minutes to get the
same gist with names named.

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ramanujan
His fund gets 2.8/5.0. Partners themselves get 4.0/5.0.

<http://www.thefunded.com/funds/partner/3803?name=Fred+Destin>

Also, Destin really needs a new headshot. The one he has up is a pretentious
sneer -- kind of the look of surprise one might have when one's "lessers"
accost you. Stands out and not in a positive way.

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DanielBMarkham
Being outside the valley (and being outside of much of anything, really) my
startup experience hasn't had that many VCs. But any time I deal with money
people it always seems to seem like a heroic waste of time. Sometimes, as the
article points out, it's almost comical.

For instance, I was interested in some grant money the state had available to
high-tech startups who were pre-launch. Hey -- states need businesses to grow,
and micro-investments at the pre-prototype stage looks like it makes a lot of
sense. Their website bragged about the mission they had to encourage
innovation, especially in the web and communication sectors (which I'm in)

So I get a referral from a couple of folks who know them (referral: check). I
was introduced via email (personal introduction: check) Then they had me
complete a form that took 3 hours which asked ridiculous questions like income
projections for three years out. Finally I get a phone interview.

The interview lasted ten minutes, in which time I learned that a) the
interviewer hadn't bothered to read my application before now, b) they were
really interested in post-launch businesses with a growth record, c) really
what they wanted to do was bigger-money investments, d) the interviewer had no
experience in how to monetize the type of business I was in and didn't seem to
want to hear anything I had to say about it, and e) no, the answer isn't no,
just let's talk again in a month or so.

I mean come on. Let's get real. Until you respect my time as much as your own
we're not going to get very far, whether you choose to invest or not.

From all I can see, something is deeply wrong in the way most all of these
relationships are being created. I can see and understand that most companies
fail and that most interviews are a waste of time from the interviewers
standpoint, but that's the name of the game, folks. You don't let customer
service slump and lose screening quality simply because you're playing a
numbers game. That's idiotic.

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johnl
Sounds sort of like any business deal where you have to sell yourself as part
of the transaction. Coming in with a better attitude might help, Think of the
process as a non contact boxing match instead of a show and tell.

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joshu
I've seen many of these behaviors again and again.

Wish there were more details on the "long term implications" of terms as
signed.

