Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Unicorns are setting up their own venture capital funds

bloomberg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 86 posts

Re: Unicorns are setting up their own venture capital funds

#11

Post by arcanus »

etaioinshrdlu wrote: post #6

A lot of blockchain tech startups raise money and then turn around and invest in other startups. I think we're gonna look back at this in 5 years and collectively say, what were we thinking?

> we're gonna look back at this in 5 years and collectively say, what were we thinking?

We did that after the housing bubble in 2008 (low down payments, flexible credit ratings, etc.)

The big question is: could this also be a systemic risk to the economy? No one liked bailing out the banks, but it was necessary to save the economy. It is not clear tech or crypto are similarly critical.

Re: Unicorns are setting up their own venture capital funds

#13

Post by asaph »

etaioinshrdlu wrote: post #6

A lot of blockchain tech startups raise money and then turn around and invest in other startups. I think we're gonna look back at this in 5 years and collectively say, what were we thinking?

Protocol Labs (best known for developing FileCoin & IPFS) launched a $5M crypto grant program.[0]

[0]https://www.coindesk.com/blockchain-startup-protocol-labs-an...

Re: Unicorns are setting up their own venture capital funds

#14

Post by mattnewport »

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #10
beagle3 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft knew all about Google Yahoo knew everything about Google Google knew everything about Facebook Intel knew everything about ARM Yet disruption ensued. “Can’t be disrupted” is foolish.

This theory basically assumes that firms cannot get smarter over time. It assumes corporations will never get better at evaluating the market and their place in it, or have better information than previous generations. That's a dangerous assumption, and doesn't seem to jibe with what we see in practice.

Here's something we see in practice:

"- In 1965, the average tenure of companies on the S&P 500 was 33 years. By 1990, it was 20 years. It's forecast to shrink to 14 years by 2026.

- About 50 percent of the S&P 500 will be replaced over the next 10 years, if Innosight's forecasted churn rate holds. "

https://www.inc.com/ilan-mochari/innosight-sp-500-new-compan...

What are you seeing in practice that makes you think the truth is the opposite of what this data suggests?

Re: Unicorns are setting up their own venture capital funds

#15

Post by thoughtexplorer »

skywhopper wrote: post #7

No better evidence you’re in a bubble market if the billions flowing into self-driving cars and blockchain didn’t convince you. If investors are willing for their startups to use their capital in this way then there really is just way too much money floating around.

Blockchain sure, but why do you think self-driving is a bubble?

Re: Unicorns are setting up their own venture capital funds

#16

Post by AndrewKemendo »

mattnewport wrote: post #14
AndrewKemendo wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This theory basically assumes that firms cannot get smarter over time. It assumes corporations will never get better at evaluating the market and their place in it, or have better information than previous generations. That's a dangerous assumption, and doesn't seem to jibe with what we see in practice.

Here's something we see in practice: "- In 1965, the average tenure of companies on the S&P 500 was 33 years. By 1990, it was 20 years. It's forecast to shrink to 14 years by 2026. - About 50 percent of the S&P 500 will be replaced over the next 10 years, if Innosight's forecasted churn rate holds. " https://www.inc.com/ilan-mochari/innosight-sp-500-new-compan... What are you seeing in practice that makes you think t…

Pretty simple, Consolidation.

Companies that have information advantage will continue to push into new markets and absorb or kill incumbents.

These are complimentary phenomenon actually.

Re: Unicorns are setting up their own venture capital funds

#17

Post by eriktrautman »

This makes sense when your business strategy requires that you create a vibrant business ecosystem and the current support for these businesses is broken or inadequate. Focus and domain expertise become a competitive advantage and you can reap value from both the fund and the main business by creating value in the ecosystem.

Re: Unicorns are setting up their own venture capital funds

#18

Post by wpietri »

thoughtexplorer wrote: post #15
skywhopper wrote: post #7

No better evidence you’re in a bubble market if the billions flowing into self-driving cars and blockchain didn’t convince you. If investors are willing for their startups to use their capital in this way then there really is just way too much money floating around.

Blockchain sure, but why do you think self-driving is a bubble?

Exactly my question. I have yet to see real use cases for blockchains beyond speculation and some light crime. And I think true self-driving cars (SAE Level 5 in specific) are 10-30 years out. But I think there's enough value to be had in lower, more achieveable levels that I expect some of the companies investing in those technologies now will be long-term financial winners.

Re: Unicorns are setting up their own venture capital funds

#19

Post by mattnewport »

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #16
mattnewport wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's something we see in practice: "- In 1965, the average tenure of companies on the S&P 500 was 33 years. By 1990, it was 20 years. It's forecast to shrink to 14 years by 2026. - About 50 percent of the S&P 500 will be replaced over the next 10 years, if Innosight's forecasted churn rate holds. " https://www.inc.com/ilan-mochari/innosight-sp-500-new-compan... What are you seeing in practice that makes you think t…

Pretty simple, Consolidation. Companies that have information advantage will continue to push into new markets and absorb or kill incumbents. These are complimentary phenomenon actually.

So what is your claim here? That most companies haven't learned these lessons but those that have will assimilate or destroy the ones that don't? What would that look like in the statistics? Are there particular companies that you think are doing this successfully?

The post you originally replied to mentioned Google and Facebook neither of which look like companies that have learned this lesson well enough to beat the trend. They both look to me like they have passed their peaks in many areas:

- Innovation

- Developer, public and political good will

- Creating (rather than buying at great expense) successful new products

- Self awareness

Post reply on HN