4 ms·
I am not certain I understand how the reputation damage is supposed to occur in this case. According to the article Sequoia had a long standing willingness to
by msabalau 9y ago
I am not certain I understand how the reputation damage is supposed to occur in this case.
According to the article Sequoia had a long standing willingness to play hardball. A reputation earned through consistent long term behavior.
It's hard to see how a one time event in extreme circumstances leads to a change in reputation. Presumably any rational founder would assume that any rational VC firm would act the same way in similarly extreme circumstances. One doesn't earn a reputation by being struck by lightning or spraining your ankle falling over a turkey in a city street or any unrepeated unlikely events.
And, if you believe you can clearly prove "fraud, break of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty" presumably you are only discouraging bad actors with whom you wouldn't want to get into bed with in any event.
- amrrs 9y agoIt does. Benchmark played along with Kalanick until they realised this guy isn't in for making money (right now) but highly egoistic like Bezos to build a global economy. But now that they're suing the guy whom they supported for fraud means they play at crucial right time and no Founders vision matters to them!
- lmm 9y agoSuing a company you funded is extreme enough that doing it even once attracts a reputation. Would future founders considering potential investors assume that Kalanick was so far out of line that there's no way anything similar could happen to them? Or would they think that there's probably blame on both sides, and there are better investors around?
- zangiku 9y agoWhy does funding a company have to mean that you are forever beholden to the CEO's bad decisions? Extreme this is not, and founders should take this as a signal that Benchmark will bring reason to the board.
- ScottBurson 9y agoAgreed. Speaking strictly personally, as a wannabe entrepreneur dreaming of billions, this doesn't give me the feeling I should avoid Benchmark.