Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by wr0ng 4743 days ago
They're not. The baseline probability of profitability for these types of companies is incredibly small. However, the potential profit that you might make for any one of these companies is extremely high (usually by selling the company, not by the company's inherent ability to turn a profit) - so invest in multiple companies and if you're lucky the 'big one' will beat your losses many times over.
1 comments

You don't think they have more prominent wins in their portfolio than most other VC portfolios out there?...
Yes, though regression to the mean might suggest that they won't be so lucky in future.
But what is the actual amount for "more"? If it's 20% success instead of 10% it's still not a good chance of success for the individual company.
VC funding, to my eyes, has a huge amount in common with Horse Racing.