VCs are from Venus, Entrepreneurs are from Mars
Advertisement
Advertisement
If you were to ask a random group of 100
The failure to understand
Such a feeling of helplessness is, no doubt, exacerbated by the observation that 90% of startups fail and more than 99% of the pitches made to VCs end in rejection.
There have been a few attempts to bridge this information gap that have taken the route of drama (and maybe even caricature), such as Dragons Den, Shark Tank, Silicon Valley and TVF Pitchers.
But do they really reveal the truth about the entrepreneur-VC relationship?
Advertisement
And then, it struck me!
Is it just coincidence that a very similar level of ignorance and helplessness is on display when you ask a random group of 100 men, single or otherwise, on whether they understand women?
Many assume that VCs say no to a startup because they have no desire to invest.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
VCs capitalize on the high-risk nature of startups to generate disproportionate returns for themselves and their limited partners (individuals and firms that invest in VCs).
Advertisement
These disproportionate returns come from outstanding entrepreneurs with game-changing businesses that grow faster than any other asset of which an investor could claim a share. If there were no entrepreneurs and startups to fund, VCs would go out of business.
To put it simply, entrepreneurs and VCs need each other to complete the purpose of their existence.
How romantic!
This new paradigm triggered a wave of memories from my experiences on both sides of the Entrepreneur-Investor table.
I began to think…can the tension between entrepreneurs and VCs be attributed to an analogy that is best described as Entrepreneurs being from Mars, and VCs being from Venus’?
Advertisement
It was a thought that eventually led to the birth to my debut book, ‘VCs are from Venus, Entrepreneurs are from Mars.’
It might be preposterous, even loony, to suggest that
But patterns are hard to ignore and it is quite a strong and coherent pattern that I found emerging from my personal experiences, first-hand accounts from meeting entrepreneurs and investors, as well as from anecdotes of startups that have today become the stuff of legend, such as Infosys and Paytm.
My observations revealed that the truth was, in many cases, the exact opposite of conventional wisdom and of the popular portrayal of entrepreneurs and VCs in the media.
Advertisement
There does seem to be a way for entrepreneurs and VCs to effortlessly fall in love with each other, and yet the nature of this romance has not been well understood until now.
In fact, only when you understand that entrepreneurs are from Mars and VCs are from Venus can the nature of their romance and relationship be clearly understood and explained.
“VCs are from Venus, Entrepreneurs are from Mars” is the result of several insights gained from my personal and professional journeys that have converged into this simple but profound reality.
Image source
Advertisement
- 2 states where home prices are falling because there are too many houses and not enough buyers
- US buys 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Russia's ally costing on average less than $20,000 each, report says
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- 9 health benefits of drinking sugarcane juice in summer
- 10 benefits of incorporating almond oil into your daily diet
- From heart health to detoxification: 10 reasons to eat beetroot
- Why did a NASA spacecraft suddenly start talking gibberish after more than 45 years of operation? What fixed it?
- ICICI Bank shares climb nearly 5% after Q4 earnings; mcap soars by ₹36,555.4 crore
- Nothing Phone (2a) blue edition launched
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market