VCs tend to approach start-ups with cool, analytical rigor to get to the bottom line answer: “Will this make me and my limited partners money?”. Entrepreneurs tend to approach start-ups with extreme emotional attachment beyond any rational borders, seeking the answer to the question: “Will anyone love and appreciate my [professional] baby (which, by the way, I hope makes me money so I can retire and get back to spending time with my family)?” Anyone who’s been involved in starting a company knows what an incredibly emotional adventure it can be. The ups and downs are incredibly exhilirating yet terrifying. One moment you’re king of the world, the next you’re afraid you’re going to run out of money, and then it flips again. The tension between that emotional roller-coaster that the founders/insiders are feelings as compared to the cool, analytical perspective of the rational VC/outsiders is an extremely healthy one - over-weighting one side or the other will result in a sub-optimal company-creation process.
so true. . . so true. . . reminded me of the Monk and the Riddle. You look for passion first in your founders and analytical abilities second. . . You look for analytical abilities in your VC and employees first and passion second . . . obviously both are 1,2 on the list of qualities you would want for anyone to share the next 3 years of your life with.
