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> “For us, we've always looked at financing events, whether they're primary, secondary or public markets, as a tool in the tool belt. It's something that you ca
by eloff 6y ago
> “For us, we've always looked at financing events, whether they're primary, secondary or public markets, as a tool in the tool belt. It's something that you can reach for as a person who runs a business that can help you when you need it,” says Foster. “I think that's a much healthier approach to things than sort of getting on a hamster wheel that is difficult to get off.”
That's seems like a pragmatic and healthy attitude towards venture capital. I feel like venture capital is gasoline. You can pour in on a fire to make it grow quickly, just make sure you first have a good fire going and careful not to get burned in the process.
- efsavage 6y agoMost VC would love it if they could be 100% gasoline. The common problems people usually generally arise from them having more fuel than there are fires to put it on.
- redisman 6y agoThe problem is if you're 100% gasoline then the founders would do well to just get a loan
- bpodgursky 6y agoHaving the right investors adds value in a way a bank holding a loan absolutely never will.
- redisman 6y agoBut if the company is using money as "100% gasoline" then they've got it figured out and don't need intros from the investors.
- ben-gy 6y agoCorrect - accelerant can be traded for “equity for lots of cash plus advice” or purchased “cash for advice” - I’m a big fan of bootstrapping to a financially stable state and having the option to take either route without the business being reliant on either - then again, in Australia we don’t have much choice anyway - venture capital and banks are both exceedingly conservative which perpetuates this approach more so than in other ecosystems with more funding liquidity.
- staysaasy 6y agoI usually equate VC to some new experimental rocket fuel. It's by far the best way to get yourself into orbit, but the downside is that if it fails you're going to explode rather than cruise to a nice landing.