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If I remember correctly, these guys were proud and very public about building Buffer as a lifestyle business as were the VCs that backed them. At the end the VC
by rdlecler1 8y ago
If I remember correctly, these guys were proud and very public about building Buffer as a lifestyle business as were the VCs that backed them. At the end the VCs would came out with a negative IRR which was not unexpected—a lesson into why VCs don’t invest in lifestyle businesses.
- wslack 8y agoI find it strange that being this profitable is labeled a "lifestyle business." The hypergrowth/unicorn exit isn't a healthy outcome for many businesses.
- olllll 8y agoBecause you aren't building a business. You are creating an asset you can sell. Businesses are great and I don't think most people are trying to talk down about them. But VCs are trying to build an asset they can sell. Because when you sell an company that has a high rate of projected growth you get all that money now as opposed to waiting 20 years. There are plenty of investments that pay out solid returns for 20+ years. VC type funds are attractive in no small part because they pay out in a shorter period of time. It really has little to do with building a business outside of the fact that the asset happens to be a company.
- rdlecler1 8y agoThat’s not the VC game. These are high risk companies that may never generate a profit. Because the failure rate is so high you need a few outsized winners. Value investing where 95% of your portfolio is generating a 10% IRR doesn’t work. Investor invest in VCs to make money. Investing in companies with VC risk profiles and lifestyle business return profiles doesn’t work.