[MarkusAllen]

Can I post a direct link here... don't want to be accused of spam?

I expose just about everyone as a "roman a clef" (a work of "fiction":>).

I'm 58 years old. Entrepreneurial builder. Disgusted by VC/PE. Been writing this book since 1987.

[FloorEgg]

After my first startup failed (didn't get PM fit) I got a bit obsessed with how to do good market research for innovation. Discovery interviews, JTBD, etc.

During my journey I took a beat and pointed my new skills at VCs. I interviewed a few dozen VCs trying to understand what they were trying to get done and what mattered to them, but with a bit of a bias trying to gauge whether they wanted to better predict market demand of their portfolio or prospective investments' products.

What I learned shocked me a bit. The sense I got was that they didn't really care about market demand or building a strong business, they mostly cared if the founder could sell the company up to food chain (series a, b, c etc).

Roughly speaking: "I don't care what value my portfolio companies create, I care about marking up my book so I can increase my take".

I don't know how much this had to do with ZIRP, but it really soured me to the VC industry. I've been committed to bootstrapping my companies ever since.

[CamelCaseName]

Sure, why not, share your work!

Also, the two links in your profile do not work

[MarkusAllen]

Just updated. Thanks for the heads up.

[MarkusAllen]

The direct link is: https://www.Founderstowne.com

[defrost]

It's not a peak HN submit time, that said: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46572285

[MarkusAllen]

I see an empty post.

[defrost]

It's been submitted and will remain empty of comments until a HN user comments.

I see a post with 13 points (upvotes / positive reactions) and [flagged] (meaning the title alone upset a few people given there's been no time to read the content yet).

As with all HN submissions, YMMV - Your Mileage May Vary