
Corporate Venture Capital (argument against Google VC) - terpua
http://avc.blogs.com/a_vc/2008/07/corporate-ventu.html
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tptacek
I watched "corporate VC" totally fuck over a bizdev strategy at one of my last
jobs. In my case, it wasn't even a real investment --- just a "strategic" chit
from a syndicated A round. Unfortunately, that chit went to an 800lb gorilla
in our space. As a result:

* It was hard to get the investor's competitors to take us seriously in OEM and acquisition discussions, because the 800lb gorilla was seen as having "first refusal".

* It was hard to get the 800lb gorilla to take acquisition seriously; in fact, they expected favors in return for having "invested".

The company did OK in the long run, so all I have here is an anecdote.

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mikeroo
I agree with what Fred says, but I'm surprised he hasn't shown up urging us to
post on his blog via Discus instead of HN.

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fallentimes
Another pretty big factor is the Corporate Arm's potential unwillingness to
invest in startups that compete directly with Google.

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j2d2
I'm kinda sold... Does anyone have any disagreements?

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andreyf
There are a lot of smart people at Google who are surely aware of these
issues, and they are keeping them in mind as they go forward with this?

Maybe Google will give 50% of profits on investment to the those who manage
the funds, or maybe 100%, and seek to benefit from the "externalities" of
running a corporate VC - dibs on buyouts, control of promising startups.

The motivation behind this, I think, is not getting screwed by external VC's
like they have been when they want to buy a company.

