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Comment on I Prefer to be in the Business of Recycled Ideas! by David Wolfe

David Wolfe — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 18:13:14 +0000

Ben,

Great post. Robert Sutton, other of “The No Asshole Rule”, defines innovation as the act of “doing new things with old ideas”. He wrote a great book about innovation (“Weird Ideas That Work”) and studied the conditions necessary for it to emerge.

Was the IPod truly innovative? What about Facebook? If you look at most products or business models that are labeled “innovative”. previous incarnations have usually been around for a long time.

Comment on I Prefer to be in the Business of Recycled Ideas! by Kevin

Kevin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:01:50 +0000

Clearly timing of any ideais critical to it’s success. This post provides excellent real world examples that drive home this point. Will follow up with a couple of biz plans whose time I believe have come or will arrive in next 5 – 10 months.

Comment on VC Math by Basil Peters

Basil Peters — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:15:23 +0000

Troy, thanks for sharing your experience and congratulations on your successful escape.

This happens much more often than people appreciate (well at people who aren’t traditional VCs).

Comment on VC Math by Troy McConnell

Troy McConnell — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:44:33 +0000

Haven’t read the book but completely agree with the analysis. I’ve sold 3 companies and have seen a lot of this. In one experience, the $5 million Series B VC blocked an acquisition representing a 3X return less than 12 months after their investment. The guy even sent me an email “explaining” his dilemma. Luckily, they found another PE partner, cashed me out, and now they jointly own a lead weight. Today, I work with founders interested in raising smaller amounts, getting profitable and building real companies.

Comment on VC Math by Basil Peters

Basil Peters — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:41:12 +0000

Great post and thanks for your kind works about my book, Early Exits. Good point on later stage VC funds being happy with a 3 or 4x return. Those would typically be called Series D or E rounds. Your illustration of what it means for the VC fund general partners is also good and their situation is usually even worse than you describe because most modern VC funds have a ‘hurdle rate’ or ‘high water mark’ they have to hit before the partners get any share of the carry. That makes them even more inclined to risk it all on a home run. Keep up the great blogging!