I don't think many venture capital firms work precisely in the way this man describes. VC's aren't stupid, and they wouldn't do anything to actively limit their

I don't think many venture capital firms work precisely in the way this man describes. VC's aren't stupid, and they wouldn't do anything to actively limit their scope of companies to invest in. Every VC looks around for fresh ideas. I think that often times startups who know VCs will go to them with ideas, but not as a springboard or as an "I know you" handout. I think that startups often just go to the connection they have first because its the first place they think of, and VCs picks them up if they are a good idea like any other start up. If we found consistently bad startups which were made by connections then this gentleman's claims may hold weight. I think that this VC will likely find himself turning down many good connection startups by believing that they're doing good and being fair. Its tough to break into any industry, and a connection helps, but only as exposure, not sway toward automatic capital. Exposure shouldn't be taken as a handicap to other start ups. If the startups without many connections have a good idea the interns in VC firms will notice them in not very long and forward the idea to their boss. That or they can apply to Ycom. The point is that this is a pure enough industry that the door doesn't close after the first 10 startups get funding, and those first ten will be judged just like the next 20 or 30 because there's no VC deadline every year (first come first served on applies when there are first in a time frame. No time frame, no firsts). Any VC that doesn't is handicapping themselves or using a different business model. (Mind the poor english. Its nap time where I am. Also, this article seems to conflict with Ycom's systems, but it doesn't. People that would have had connections just apply to Ycom like everyone else. If anything Ycom has found an effective way of increasing their scope unlike this VC which limited their scope to startups they don't know.)