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This is the line used my Andreessen, but I don’t buy it. A good idea in the hands of the wrong entrepreneurs is no different than a bad market. Traction trumps
by rdlecler1 9y ago
This is the line used my Andreessen, but I don’t buy it. A good idea in the hands of the wrong entrepreneurs is no different than a bad market. Traction trumps everything, but when you don’t have traction you need to look at the idea good ideas often only look good in retrospect so all you’re left to evaluate is the quality of the team. Great markets are tightly bound to the quality of the idea. In fact, even though he explocitly emphasizes market the rest of the interview his focus was on the quality of the team.
- mathattack 9y agoYes. If one looks in the extreme at Google or Facebook, it took both the founder and the market. I think VCs view it easier to replace a C+ founder in an A+ market then figure out what to do with an A+ founder stuck in a C+ market. I'm not arguing the morality of this, just following on their thought process. He does backtrack on this later. The key lesson for me was to always invest in exceptional founders — you can always find the money to make subsequent investments in their companies. Money is more abundant than opportunities. I really kick myself for not having written Jeff a check when I met him. He’s a fantastic entrepreneur and I knew it – I blew it.
- AndrewKemendo 9y agoEasier to replace a C+ founder in an A+ market then figure out what to do with an A+ founder stuck in a C+ market That's a great way to put it and encapsulates a general frustration I've had.