[jedberg]

Most risk is not quantifiable like that. Very few things are as clear cut as gambling. Most risk is in the form of "should I try to swim across this rushing river or risk going downstream to look for a bridge".

That risk isn't quantifiable. But if you're in a national park, you know there is a good chance there is a bridge, so you pattern match what you know about national parks and decide that looking for a bridge is less risky, knowing your priors.

VCs operate the same way. They know that in the past they funded two founders from MIT making a marketplace, so they are far more likely to put money into that again than something from a solo female founder who never went to college.

That's why I say they are risk averse.