>Doesn't that tell you something right there? No, and a cursory Googling quantitatively debunks this bias, though it's obviously a convenient assertion to give

>Doesn't that tell you something right there? No, and a cursory Googling quantitatively debunks this bias, though it's obviously a convenient assertion to give a VC a little more reassurance on an early investment. But really, are we all not just 'absolute strangers', 'random individuals from the internet', with a 'random early stage startup'... until we're not? Our incredibly finite networks only form one way—by meeting new people—which has to happen somehow. Clearly there is a mutual vetting process before agreeing to work together; and extending beyond one's current network doesn't necessarily represent a failure of one (or one's current network) to satisfy each relationship. See also Joy's Law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy's_law_(management) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy's_law_(management)