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VCs Are Just Tired

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Re: VCs Are Just Tired

#21

Post by JohnFen »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #14
nicoburns wrote: post #5

It's almost as if capital is too concentrated, to the point that the people with who control it don't know what to do with it. Oh wait. The basis of capitalism is markets, and the wisdom of the crowd (the "invisible hand") controlling them and making them efficient. VC's (and wealth concentration in general) are the opposite of that. They are the very-much-visible hand. We'd solve this problem with progressive taxati…

> IMO, if you believe in free markets, then your position is inconsistent if you also believe if you also believe in unconstrained wealth collection. But if you believe in free markets, then your position is also inconsistent if you don't believe in unconstrained wealth collection. Because that's one of the things that the market sometimes does when it's free. And I'm sure that someone will say "That means that the i…

> Because that's one of the things that the market sometimes does when it's free.

Correct -- a truly unconstrained market tends to devolve to a highly unfree market. This is why even Adam Smith commented that proper regulation is essential to ensure markets remain free.

Re: VCs Are Just Tired

#22

Post by andrepd »

zenincognito wrote: post #10

"Lack of bandwidth, hyper-velocity, a pittance of sleep" If we are just going to put together words to describe concepts that make no sense then you are probably meeting people that have never made a dollar on their investment. Some of the best VCs are original thinkers and will take their time making investments. The thing about them is that they will be the first to making an investment in a company even before it…

Venture capitalist success is indistinguishable from randomness. It's pure, unadulterated luck. "The best VCs are thinkers and visionaries" is post-hoc bullshit justifications to make their wealth seem the result of wits and hard work, and not just the product of luck + the pre-existing capital to invest.

Re: VCs Are Just Tired

#23

Post by bawolff »

jyounker wrote: post #17
bawolff wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't the obvious capitalism solution to that be - loans become very cheap because people dont know what else to do with their money. Lots of people now have access to (other people's) capital. Wealth is no longer as concentrated, wisdom of crowds prevail?

Or you could pay works more so that, in their role as consumers, they can buy more.

Sure, you could do a lot of things. I'm not arguing for capitalism as a fair and moral system, just that i think that OP should account for why this isn't happening/doesnt work in order for his argument that the issue is concentration of capital (as opposed to some other issue) to make sense

Re: VCs Are Just Tired

#24

Post by azinman2 »

tempsy wrote: post #18
fludlight wrote: post #11

Everyone is tired because they are overworked: engineers, doctors, lawyers, accountants, bankers, police, cooks, janitors. Long shifts, split shifts, long commutes, homework, constant interruptions, questionable management practices, weak labor laws, weak enforcement thereof, asymmetric legal costs, self-training on your own time, expectations of faster and faster turnaround times, less and less support staff...

How did you conclude that “everyone” is overworked from this article? The managerial class notion of overwork/busyness is completely voluntary.

According to what? Just because you're not in survival mode in the truest form of the word doesn't mean you aren't trying to maintain whatever you have. Expectations can still be set, email doesn't turn off, and personal relationships (kids, family, friends) continue on, along with personal goals, health, increased cost of living, etc.

Just because it's 'voluntary' doesn't mean it's not work or it's not stress or it doesn't affect you.

Re: VCs Are Just Tired

#25

Post by azinman2 »

andrepd wrote: post #22
zenincognito wrote: post #10

"Lack of bandwidth, hyper-velocity, a pittance of sleep" If we are just going to put together words to describe concepts that make no sense then you are probably meeting people that have never made a dollar on their investment. Some of the best VCs are original thinkers and will take their time making investments. The thing about them is that they will be the first to making an investment in a company even before it…

Venture capitalist success is indistinguishable from randomness. It's pure, unadulterated luck. "The best VCs are thinkers and visionaries" is post-hoc bullshit justifications to make their wealth seem the result of wits and hard work, and not just the product of luck + the pre-existing capital to invest.

They all typically have some kind of hypothesis that guides their investing. That doesn't come out of the blue.

Now what their investment strategy is versus what pays off, well that I'd love to see empirical data to shed some light.

I'll also say that building up their networks to get those deals is not just a matter of luck, especially for those that repeatedly do well.

Re: VCs Are Just Tired

#26

Post by tempsy »

azinman2 wrote: post #24
tempsy wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did you conclude that “everyone” is overworked from this article? The managerial class notion of overwork/busyness is completely voluntary.

According to what? Just because you're not in survival mode in the truest form of the word doesn't mean you aren't trying to maintain whatever you have. Expectations can still be set, email doesn't turn off, and personal relationships (kids, family, friends) continue on, along with personal goals, health, increased cost of living, etc. Just because it's 'voluntary' doesn't mean it's not work or it's not stress or it…

my point is there’s a lot of people who complain about work that could in theory never work another day in their life again but do for non-financial reasons anyway

Re: VCs Are Just Tired

#27

Post by mdszy »

I truly feel so bad for people whose lives are so hard their job title literally means "someone who spends money for a living"

Truly a tragedy.

Re: VCs Are Just Tired

#28

Post by theklub »

fludlight wrote: post #11

Everyone is tired because they are overworked: engineers, doctors, lawyers, accountants, bankers, police, cooks, janitors. Long shifts, split shifts, long commutes, homework, constant interruptions, questionable management practices, weak labor laws, weak enforcement thereof, asymmetric legal costs, self-training on your own time, expectations of faster and faster turnaround times, less and less support staff...

Outsourcing of support staff...

Re: VCs Are Just Tired

#29

Post by pbiggar »

This is a great article, especially because the solution is right there in the text:

> forcing everyone to chase the same set of SaaS companies

> everyone can read the gridiron of SaaS metrics

There was a perfect storm: huge seed rounds leading traditional firms to move upmarket, VCs raising larger funds and so needing to hit the winners hard, which caused Series A metrics to swell, and so VCs are all chasing the same deals.

Of course those deals don't need them: those companies are already winning and don't need their expertise, just their money, which is commoditized by the swelling of funds.

The answer is simple: chase less successful. Stop just trying to get into the big SaaS deals, and target smaller companies, lower metrics, earlier stage companies.

Of course, if the firm staffed up and raised a larger fund as the article says, then it may be structurally impossible to survive. Innovator's dilemma in action.

Re: VCs Are Just Tired

#30

Post by firecall »

tempsy wrote: post #26
azinman2 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to what? Just because you're not in survival mode in the truest form of the word doesn't mean you aren't trying to maintain whatever you have. Expectations can still be set, email doesn't turn off, and personal relationships (kids, family, friends) continue on, along with personal goals, health, increased cost of living, etc. Just because it's 'voluntary' doesn't mean it's not work or it's not stress or it…

my point is there’s a lot of people who complain about work that could in theory never work another day in their life again but do for non-financial reasons anyway

How many is 'a lot'?
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