[ganeumann]

Well, funny you used that example because I was the first venture investor in Simple. I invested because of the founders' passion to change the world and rid us of the evil banks. But I knew that if they even made the slightest progress towards this worthy goal we would all make money. Making money and making customers' lives better go hand-in-hand, in the long run.

Anyway, that digression aside, I am not sure if the information asymmetry is the whole story here. These articles (and books and talks and etc.) meant to educate founders so that VCs don't screw another generation of them have been written since, at least, the 70s. Either nobody reads them or it just doesn't matter when they do. If the latter, maybe we need a better understanding of the problem so we can solve it.

[rfrey]

The underlying cause isn't attention deficit or information asymmetry. It's opportunity asymmetry.

That could be disproved if it turned out serial entrepreneurs have bad experiences at similar rates to rookies.

[ganeumann]

I buy that. How do you fix it?

[simplekoala]

I think the situation has started to get better with software start-up infrastructure costs going significantly down, angels and incubators eating traditional VC's lunches (to a point where firms like Sequoia had to initiate stealth scouts program so they could get in early into potential killer startups), founders getting better terms, a healthy founder friendly eco-system nurtured (carefully?) by newly minted successful entrepreneur turned angles. I am optimistically hoping that "Shark VCs" are a dying breed. Not sure how long have you been a VC; You probably have a better handle on this, and privy to a lot more than what keeps getting written. Not to put too much pressure on you but frankly I was hoping you would have a thesis on how to make it even better for engineers/budding-entrepreneurs.

[ganeumann]

My thesis is to try not to be an asshole and to hope that somehow not being an asshole leads to returns good enough that I can keep investing.

I don't think that's enough of a manifesto to inspire systemic change, though.

[simplekoala]

Thank you for making the valley a better place (and hope you make a good return on your investment in the process)

[ganeumann]

I'm in NYC (which also means that my definition of not being an asshole might be a bit more lenient.)

I've worked with plenty of seed and A-stage investors in SV, though, and found most of them to be focused on being helpful to founders--you have to be, and have more opportunity to be, when you're working with people starting their first company. In my experience it's the later stage firms that are harder on founders. Their attitude--not to be an apologist--is that everyone at the table is an adult and can look out for themselves. The best thing you can do as a founder or startup exec when you start talking to Series B and later firms is

(a) Have a seed or angel investor who can give you good advice (and who, since they were early investors, has an economic situation closer to the Common than to the Series B Preferred) and ask them for advice; and

(b) Have options, including: other Series B firms, the potential to get a bridge or extension round from your seed and A folk, possibly being acquired, and extending your runway by cutting burn.

[zachrose]

One day, you could all make money by tracking user's projected income tax bracket and charitable donations, telling you the result of an $X or $Y contribution to organization A or B.