I have been in a few conversations off late, and becoming a VC or starting a fund seems like a new cool thing. The return takes a long time( 10-12) years. Every three years is new fundraising. It takes lots of patience, perseverance, and luck to find one unicorn.
There are many other professions where people have made more money than in the VC industry. The carry is a byproduct and success indicator. In India, only a handful of General Partners have seen it.
It looks on LinkedIn or social media profile adding a persona, bumper sticker associating with a Venture Capital, but in, reality the work, luck needed to succeed is far more. That is why you will see the 1st in a command being hyper-competitive and high on dopamine to win the best deals.
“Secrets of Sand Hill Road” written by Scott Kupor is a good book that can give you a glimpse of it.
In all essence Running a VC fund and running a startup both have few similarities.
- Integrity
- Openness
- Cutthroat competition
- Return to investors
- Employees churn
- Radical optimism and self-belief
- People’s business
Laughed reading Leo’s tweet, the comments thread sums it up.