11–20 of 34 posts
Sheer speculation: porn and gambling.
Gambling seems like a no go because of legalities in the US, but there's a huge gambling technology sector in the EU and UK where it's legal.
Regulatory uncertainty can cause difficulties investing in certain sectors that might prove quite profitable.
Lastly, I would note that profitability as an isolated metric is not a perfect indicator of future success. I can find a link if people are interested, but in his latest book Robert Shiller discusses firms that created some special financial products in the late 90s. The products were effectively betting on black swan events happening at a certain time. They ensured a high annual IRR but then if the event didn't occur their investors were left holding the bag. What made the idea profitable for the firms was that LPs that invested in years 4-6 did so based on IRR, without examining things in detail and effectively overpaid for a piece.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Gambling seems like a no go because of legalities in the US, but there's a huge gambling technology sector in the EU and UK where it's legal.
What about APIs/SDKs like Betable? I know it's a UK based company, but does this allow others outside of UK to legally use it (ex. in the US?)
VCs are often forbidden by their agreements with their LPs to invest in certain types of business. I forget what they are exactly, but it's not simply a matter of taboos.
Thanks for the quick response pg, would you say in addition to being bound legally, there is a cultural bias against certain types of businesses (assume fully legal)?
The reason is, sale cycles are so long and so different from anything else, that it doesn't fit with their view of the world. (And if you try to sell to governments without being aware of that, you are going to fail).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thanks for the quick response pg, would you say in addition to being bound legally, there is a cultural bias against certain types of businesses (assume fully legal)?
If your target market is government / army / municipal, most VCs won't touch it. Those that will touch it, tend to deal exclusively with that kind of stuff, and don't hang out with the rest of the VC crowd. The reason is, sale cycles are so long and so different from anything else, that it doesn't fit with their view of the world. (And if you try to sell to governments without being aware of that, you are going to fa…
Short story, in-law works for major city parks department and as we walked through the park, she tells me that they have to buy certain trash cans that cost $10,000 each. These are not special high-tech trash cans, they are concrete ones that have stones in them. I know they are heavy duty but it would be a weekend project for some DIY'ers. Why are we letting firms get away with ripping us off (since we the taxpayers foot the bill)?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If your target market is government / army / municipal, most VCs won't touch it. Those that will touch it, tend to deal exclusively with that kind of stuff, and don't hang out with the rest of the VC crowd. The reason is, sale cycles are so long and so different from anything else, that it doesn't fit with their view of the world. (And if you try to sell to governments without being aware of that, you are going to fa…
That's an interesting one because I see the govt procurement market as being overwrought, inefficient, and ripe for disruption. Are there ways to breakthrough given how much of the GDP is driven by spending in government & military? Short story, in-law works for major city parks department and as we walked through the park, she tells me that they have to buy certain trash cans that cost $10,000 each. These are not sp…
VCs are often forbidden by their agreements with their LPs to invest in certain types of business. I forget what they are exactly, but it's not simply a matter of taboos.
Thanks for the quick response pg, would you say in addition to being bound legally, there is a cultural bias against certain types of businesses (assume fully legal)?
There have been startups we didn't fund because they seemed like they'd be bad for the world.