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UBeam et al don't make a product, their product is the company. A16z is betting there's high demand for pie-in-the-sky, female-ceo, headline-making companies. S
by nikanj 10y ago
UBeam et al don't make a product, their product is the company. A16z is betting there's high demand for pie-in-the-sky, female-ceo, headline-making companies. So far, they've been right.
- bedros 10y agoI would expect a16z to have a better due diligence before investing.
- thebiglebrewski 10y agoI really don't like your tone about female CEOs. UBeam and Theranos are terrible examples. Far more companies have been run into the ground by male leadership. PS - I'm a dude
- dleslie 10y agoThere's a present fad to seek out and support female contenders, and this makes those with good intentions meaty targets for those inclined to exploit good intentions. It's not that women are less capable, it's that there's an angle where well meaning individuals may be exploited by predators. In a way, it's flattery to claim that there may exist women who are aware of this opportunity and are exploiting it.
- nikanj 10y agoGuessing the tone right is hard on a pure-text medium. I was not referring to leadership abilities of various genders, but to the recent market trend where the gender (and age!) of the founder/ceo forms a major part of the pitch and media image.
- bedros 10y agothat's not the point; there are many successful female founders; the point I'm raising is some VCs, even top tier, rush to be the investor in next big startup run by a female founder, without doing the proper research about the company or the technology.
- CaptainZapp 10y agoAhem, Carly Fiorina, anyone? Arguably the worst tech CEO, ever! Male or female.
- sfifs 10y agoThe industry operates on the greater fool theory. They only need someone else to buy their stake out at a higher price than they paid at some point.