I think an analogy to "The Selfish Gene" is appropriate here. The emphasis is on "gene" as the basic unit of natural selection. Here we see (as we have always

I think an analogy to "The Selfish Gene" is appropriate here. The emphasis is on "gene" as the basic unit of natural selection. Here we see (as we have always known) that the basic unit of investment success is not the team, the idea, or the company; but the portfolio. It doesn't matter that Sequoia squandered $41 million on one company if they made hundreds of millions on Instagram. Startups are high-risk, high-reward ventures, and they have always known that. As to whether the huge capital and press actually hindered Color, I'm not convinced, but it seems plausible.