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

VC isn't VC anymore

anildash.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 223 posts

Re: VC isn't VC anymore

#31

Post by rglover »

sghiassy wrote: post #16
exceptione wrote: post #15

> Since the Cancer Capital firms have become so powerful, the overall balance of power between founders and VCs has flipped; instead of founders having a company that VCs would try to fund, now VCs publish extremist political manifestos, and “founders” are just the people who are selected to carry out parts of those plans > The rest of the world doesn’t know: New founders and workers entering the tech industry are un…

It’s the second gilded age Hopefully this one will pass, just as the first did

All things pass. The question is what the fallout will look like for everyone who doesn't have their hand in the cookie jar.

Re: VC isn't VC anymore

#33

Post by Henchman21 »

saasisdead wrote: post #13

VC is basically just plowing capital into people that went to prestigious schools or maybe were at a top company. They collect fees and every once in a while a company hits. Any analysis on the asset class is moot. Most of the VC media is aimed at hiding the fact that its a lottery machine for a pre selected group

I'll say it directly, as _they have_: they are attempting to recreate fuedalism.

Those folks are in these comments. They'll get their pitchforks and torches eventually.

Re: VC isn't VC anymore

#34

Post by Henchman21 »

bix6 wrote: post #25

I’m a VC and agree with much of this. The mega firms have totally warped VC and the desire for massive cash appreciation has led to a host of bad characters getting involved. I still love working with early stage companies but it is hard to cut your own lane when these mega groups control so many aspects of the stack and have such outsized capital and political influence. There are so many issues destroying early sta…

Y'all need ethics is what ya need.

Re: VC isn't VC anymore

#35

Post by Henchman21 »

rglover wrote: post #31
sghiassy wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s the second gilded age Hopefully this one will pass, just as the first did

All things pass. The question is what the fallout will look like for everyone who doesn't have their hand in the cookie jar.

I'm more interested in what happens to those with their hands in. They need to lose those hands.

Re: VC isn't VC anymore

#36

Post by megagpt6 »

hirako2000 wrote: post #24

> But a cancer grows from a cell that a body needs in small, healthy amounts, and that turns deadly when it grows without limit until it harms, or even kills, its host I thought a cancer grew from a defective cell that is able to divide and grow to over take the healthy ones.

[dead]

Re: VC isn't VC anymore

#37

Post by s1artibartfast »

saasisdead wrote: post #13

VC is basically just plowing capital into people that went to prestigious schools or maybe were at a top company. They collect fees and every once in a while a company hits. Any analysis on the asset class is moot. Most of the VC media is aimed at hiding the fact that its a lottery machine for a pre selected group

I don't think they are that squeamish about hiding it. VC's talk all the time about investing in people and understanding that their ideas May shift over time.

Tyler Cowen is a big proponent of pre-selecting talented people and not even requiring an idea. I think this is the model of Emergent Ventures (EV), launched in 2018, and is getting replicated in many places.

I think it is regarded as highly successful

Re: VC isn't VC anymore

#38

Post by random3 »

52ahf wrote: post #23

Anil Dash writes what people want to hear (except for boring medical analogies). He writes against Big-AI, but supports AI (small?) and copyright theft at the EFF, where he is a board member . I'm getting tolerated opposition vibes here.

So A16Z is the largest spender on politics, but Anil Dash's "momma is.."

https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/31/a-group-funded-by-andreess...

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/technology/andreessen-hor...

Re: VC isn't VC anymore

#39

Post by fhub »

I was living in SF Bay Area when a16z started. They had good marketing and a good reputation. Their analyst posts were insightful and well received here. My perception of a16z has changed drastically. I’m ashamed just how badly that marketing worked on me in the early years.
Post reply on HN