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Vinod Khosla: 70-80% Of VCs Add Negative Value To Startups

143 points by ankitoberoi 13y ago

davidjgraph 13y ago
So a VC presenting at a startup media event says that the vast majority of other VCs don't add value, but his does. In other news...
- clicks 13y ago
  Well... he's a pretty smart guy (being the co-founder of Sun), and he's got a nice record. But what I like most about Khosla (and Khosla ventures) is that he focuses on cleantech ventures: http://www.khoslaventures.com/sustainability.html http://www.khoslaventures.com/sustainability.html -- something that is really assuredly /good/. I wouldn't mind having more VC's around like him.
  - coleslawfail 13y ago
    That's marketing, not a record. Look Vinod talked big in green tech and he got his ROI. But where are all the founders who made gobs of money? And where's the epic changes he was crowing about? Now he's pulling the same stunt in healthcare. He's rushing in with naive founders, taking big stakes, and all he needs to do is flip a few to have the set return a decent ROI. But the founders are mere cannon fodder. And he justifies it with his own ego - you are blessed to have him aboard!
    - deleted 13y ago
      [deleted]
    - clicks 13y ago
      Your account has been registered for an hour, and within that hour you've managed to make 7 comments very critical of Khosla. Certain things you've said are immediately and verifiably false. You're not exactly screaming trustworthiness here, but anyway. Making good investment decisions when it comes to green is HARD, as evidenced by the failures of KCPB (Fisker), the government (Solyndra), and the hesitance of YC (why does YC have a history of not accepting green ventures? Why don't they get a partner who's learned in this area? Danielle Fong is obviously brilliant (dropped out from Princeton at age 17... where she was doing her PhD), yet she was rejected by YC -- and went on to get funding from Khosla Ventures and Peter Thiel). The science of investment strategies when it comes to web companies is considerably easier - it is mostly solved to a great number of people, it isn't that easy when it comes to green companies. I think it is logical then, considering that unlike the webspace, this is VC's market, that the terms would be more favorable for them. Anyway though, I wonder if you've got a bad impression of Khosla because of his sometimes brash mannerisms? His aggressive incisiveness?
      - coleslawfail 13y ago
        Point to what I've said that is false. Danielle is great. But do you know the terms she and her team got? She doesn't control the board, does she? As for me, direct experiences and those of many people I know. Vinod's duplicity is well-known.
        wozniacki 13y ago
        Care to cite a Khosla-gate? I don't remember one. I'm sure a Calacanis or a Wilson would have exposed a crooked VC with show & stow tactics. Others have been flogged quite publicly. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=893845 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=893845 http://betabeat.com/2011/12/pay-to-pitch-how-much-is-too-much/ http://betabeat.com/2011/12/pay-to-pitch-how-much-is-too-muc... http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2009/10/paying-to-pitch.html http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2009/10/paying-to-pitch.html
- bdcravens 13y ago
  He never said "his does". Additionally, read the last paragraph. He alluded to his failure, and the implicit uncertainty of giving qualified advice.
  - ada1981 13y ago
    The ol' "Damaging Admission".
    - hnnnnng 13y ago
      Theres no way to win, is there? One doesn't state that he/she has probably made mistakes == person is implying he's never given bad advice. One does state that he/she has probably made mistakes == its the "ol' Damning Admission" strategy Do you even think?
      - yuhong 13y ago
        Yea, it is not the old legacy PR age anymore.
      - dagw 13y ago
        Theres no way to win, is there? "The only way to win is not to play" is always a time honored strategy. What you say during your PR pitch is almost irrelevant (unless you fuck up catastrophically). The nature, location and the very fact that you're doing a PR pitch speaks much much louder than the content of your pitch.
- rhizome 13y ago
  I wonder if we can turn it around and use an aphorism that 70-80% of the advice from any particular VC should be ignored.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
unono 13y ago
Vinod Khosla is one of the few good guy VCs out there. He's invested in high tech foods, robots, energy, healthcare, farming. He runs a Google X type fund.
- jedc 13y ago
  Also, his first two funds were self-financed. He did well enough on those that when he started Khosla Ventures III he was able to raise $1Billion in LP money.
- coleslawfail 13y ago
  Not true. Yes he takes what appears to be big risks but he hedges by insisting on insane terms. Then it's his and only his company. A good guy he is not. Smart, yes. He does deals no one else will. There's value there but mostly to him and his LPs. The founders are mere employees. One easy test is the lack of YC companies in his portfolio. Another is the lack of big name founders he created. It's all about Vinod.
  - unono 13y ago
    That doesn't sound so bad to me - sounds like capitalism - greed is good http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vscG3k91s58 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vscG3k91s58
    - coleslawfail 13y ago
      Of course, then there's insisting on 50% equity plus an options pool that comes from founder shares at the seed stage...
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
casca 13y ago
If you have a pile of money at your disposal, it's not hard to invest in all the good things that Vinod Khosla invests in. Maybe his previous success was down to luck or maybe he's not one of those VCs that "add negative value", but it'll be a good few years before there's any feedback on the quality of his more recent choices.
marcamillion 13y ago
Vinod is so refreshing to listen to. Obviously there would be a lot of pushback from the HN crowd - because there are many VCs here.....go figure. He reminds me of the Elon Musk of the VC industry.
- coleslawfail 13y ago
  That's his con. Then you go to them, pitch, and they want half your company. New/naive founders get Bad Vinod. Experienced founders who don't need him get Good Vinod. Sadly it's an open secret.
  - coleslawfail 13y ago
    For those down voting me, please go ahead and list all of the YC Companies who have taken money from him. He's supposed to be soooo founder friendly. So why do the best early stage startups avoid him?
    - data_app 13y ago
      YC is just a small sample of the startup world.
    - ankitoberoi 13y ago
      Interview street is a YC company, backed by them. They seem like doing fine to me.
    - hnnnnng 13y ago
      Unfortunately, lack of evidence that he has funded YC Companies is not evidence that hes a bad VC. I'm not saying he isn't, instead, if you could provide proof from various (more than 5) founders that have obtained funding from him and yet feel this way, it might make for a better argument.
      - coleslawfail 13y ago
        I didn't say he's a bad VC. I'm sure his LPs love him. He's just not who he markets himself as. It's not about you and your company. It's about him. As for YC, they have what, 400 companies? For a guy who is supposedly (self-proclaimed) so founder friendly, and has $3B in funds, not one big YC company has taken money from him? Your proof is not how the Valley works, in my view. They know and so they steer clear. That's the glaring proof. Good companies stay away until it's growth equity. Heck, look at Square. They gave Khosla a board seat as part of a huge valuation. He certainly didnt get that company off the ground.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
coleslawfail 13y ago
Wish I could say this openly but the secret truth in the Valley is connected startups know to avoid seed/A round money from Khosla, if you can. They are very aggressive on terms and it's all about Vinod. They do plain shady stuff, like share your details and plans with their portfolio companies. At a seed stage they regular push for 50% of the equity and call it an "experiment". Then rather stick behind you, they pull the plug. Don't believe me? Take a look at their portfolio and ask why with all of their resources so few YC companies are there. Xobni and ...? The other bigger companies all took growth equity not early money. In all my time in the Valley the gap between Vinod's public persona and the underlying truth is the biggest con I've run into. And of course he just keeps up the PR cause that's his best source of naive founders. Few others send him deals to lead. The good ones they keep to themselves and shut him out, until he gets in a growth terms (e.g. Square).
- unono 13y ago
  The flip side is does he help you succeed? You just made a case for why you should be in his portfolio - he'll go to the lengths of shady stuff to help you out. He openly admits he's tough, but that's out of wanting all of his investments to succeed.
  - coleslawfail 13y ago
    You? No. He helps himself, first and foremost. And it goes far beyond an ROI. He makes sure he's uniquely in a position to win. That's not founder friendly. Again, the proof is in the portfolio. He wins, few founders have with him. The lack of YC there is telling...
- rdl 13y ago
  The good thing I've heard about Khosla Ventures is that they're fast to make decisions (a trait shared by a16z, Sequoia, and most of the other "best" firms, especially newer ones). Stringing people along for a long time is one of the worst things to do when raising funding -- this says nothing about the experience after taking funding, though.
  - 13y ago
dragonwriter 13y ago
Most startups add negative value to VCs, too. Its high-risk, high-potential-reward on both sides of the street.
gilgoomesh 13y ago
Surely, Sturgeon's Law applies here? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_Law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_Law 90% of everything is crap. Why should VC's be any different?
npguy 13y ago
Given the effort that VCs put in to understand the business, this ratio of value addition is not surprising. http://fakevalley.com/conmen-arrested-for-cheating-vcs-by-setting-up-garages-in-sfo-bay-area/ http://fakevalley.com/conmen-arrested-for-cheating-vcs-by-se...
jmtame 13y ago
The VC connects wealthy investors to nerds. There are few alternatives. You can self-fund by consulting and by setting aside money for your venture. That doesn't work. Can you elaborate on this part? Is this a pattern you noticed in many entrepreneurs? I can recall at least one successful startup that had to contract early on in order to get by. They were in my YC batch and they're now doing pretty well.
paulhauggis 13y ago
..except the positive value of the cash you need from a VC to survive.
rvivek 13y ago
We (interviewstreet, YC s2011) raised money from Khosla ventures and Vinod is my main point of contact in the firm. I don't know about other experiences but to us he has been of tremendous help in advice, connections (he knows the entire world and isn't shy to connect to people he knows for a valid reason) and in hiring people. He has taken at least 8 interviews for me in the last 5 months for VP/PM roles - sometimes to evaluate and sometimes to convince. I think it depends on the entrepreneur on how much involved and close you want to be with your VC. Some of their operating partners - Keith Rabois, Ben Ling, Mark Jung, Flo (recruiting), Mojgan (PR), etc. are big resources to leverage on. I'm not trying to evangelize the firm in any way here but just putting it across that there are pros & cons in every VC firm and it boils down to what the entrepreneur actually wants. I have personally met entrepreneurs who just want a high valuation, that's it. The need varies. Every entrepreneur's goal is to make his/her company successful and if the odds are high in getting a particular investor on board, then do it. Btw, I think there are a lot of YC companies after our batch which raised money from Khosla ventures - instantcab, instacart are the ones on top of my mind.
- lmartel 13y ago
  Clearly the shortcut to quality VC funding is to pitch a startup named /in.*/ to YCombinator!
  - lifeisstillgood 13y ago
    * indolence.com - hire people to go to work for you, while you catch up on DVD box set * inflight.com - bored of the usual movies? hire us to mime the latest blockbuster in the aisle seat next to you * inkling.com - stuck on a crossword clue? we shall mail you hints for the answer to NYT's brain bogglers * incert.com - want to pass that exam and get the CERTificate? we connect you with best local tutors oh boy I am sooooo going to be in the next round :-)
- coleslawfail 13y ago
  Glad you have had a positive experience. I wish you the best in building your company. Can you comment on why so few YC companies have raised from them? My comments have received a total of 53 points. KV has tried suing thefunded. And big, successful startups haven't taken his money.
durandal1 13y ago
And 90% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
CurtMonash 13y ago
The VC who, by far, most subtracted value from my startup Evernet was Vinod Khosla. He was still at Kleiner Perkins then. He also in those days still prided himself on how successfully he negotiated against entrepreneurs.
- coleslawfail 13y ago
  Thank you for saying this publicly. If more did the bubble around his persona would quickly pop. I'd have no problem if all he did was negotiate good terms. He certainly owes his LPs that. The problem I have is presents the persona as being founder friendly. Sadly, he's at the far other side of that spectrum.
  - CurtMonash 13y ago
    I guess the most favorable spin would be "That was long ago, and Vinod hopefully has learned better by now."
    - coleslawfail 13y ago
      Nope, he hasn't except to know who to mess with. New founders get Bad Vinod. Experienced founders get Good Vinod.
quique 13y ago
First off as a rule of thumb, I generally avoid talking about people. In the rare case I do, it's only if I've had significant experience with them. As an operating partner with Khosla Ventures for the past two years, below are a couple things that I respect about Vinod that entrepreneurs may misinterpret in all the tech gossip. 1) Bold leadership Rather than be in the business of doing "deals," putting money in, getting money out - Vinod is truly in the business of building companies with meaningful impact on the world. Research KV's portfolio and you'll see how Vinod is contributing to fundamental human needs in food, agriculture, clean energy, healthcare and education among many other areas. He even setup an impact fund where others aren't investing. His leadership pushes me to focus on making a bigger and positive difference in people's lives. Also read his perspective on Silicon Valley: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/khosla-the-silicon-valley-vision/ http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/khosla-the-silicon-... To me, it was a healthy reminder not to be so small minded and uphold our larger purpose for innovation. 2) Honest feedback I highly recommend you read Vinod's point of view on venture assistance and the role of board members before commenting on this thread: http://www.khoslaventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Venture_Assistance1.pdf http://www.khoslaventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Ven... I admit, I've been in meetings where's he's given me candid, no BS feedback. Although sometimes it was uncomfortable to hear, ultimately I'm thankful because it made be a better entrepreneur and designer. I prefer honesty from someone who challenges me to be great rather than hypocritical politeness. Think about all the great founders of our time, from Steve Jobs to Mark Zuckerberg - they all have strong points of view that not everyone can get along with but don't confuse this with being a jerk: http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/09/do-you-need-to-be-a-jerk-to-be-a-successful-entrepreneur/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/09/do-you-need-to-be-a-jerk-to...

143 points by ankitoberoi 13y ago

So a VC presenting at a startup media event says that the vast majority of other VCs don't add value, but his does. In other news...

clicks 13y ago
Well... he's a pretty smart guy (being the co-founder of Sun), and he's got a nice record. But what I like most about Khosla (and Khosla ventures) is that he focuses on cleantech ventures: http://www.khoslaventures.com/sustainability.html http://www.khoslaventures.com/sustainability.html -- something that is really assuredly /good/. I wouldn't mind having more VC's around like him.
- coleslawfail 13y ago
  That's marketing, not a record. Look Vinod talked big in green tech and he got his ROI. But where are all the founders who made gobs of money? And where's the epic changes he was crowing about? Now he's pulling the same stunt in healthcare. He's rushing in with naive founders, taking big stakes, and all he needs to do is flip a few to have the set return a decent ROI. But the founders are mere cannon fodder. And he justifies it with his own ego - you are blessed to have him aboard!
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - clicks 13y ago
    Your account has been registered for an hour, and within that hour you've managed to make 7 comments very critical of Khosla. Certain things you've said are immediately and verifiably false. You're not exactly screaming trustworthiness here, but anyway. Making good investment decisions when it comes to green is HARD, as evidenced by the failures of KCPB (Fisker), the government (Solyndra), and the hesitance of YC (why does YC have a history of not accepting green ventures? Why don't they get a partner who's learned in this area? Danielle Fong is obviously brilliant (dropped out from Princeton at age 17... where she was doing her PhD), yet she was rejected by YC -- and went on to get funding from Khosla Ventures and Peter Thiel). The science of investment strategies when it comes to web companies is considerably easier - it is mostly solved to a great number of people, it isn't that easy when it comes to green companies. I think it is logical then, considering that unlike the webspace, this is VC's market, that the terms would be more favorable for them. Anyway though, I wonder if you've got a bad impression of Khosla because of his sometimes brash mannerisms? His aggressive incisiveness?
    - coleslawfail 13y ago
      Point to what I've said that is false. Danielle is great. But do you know the terms she and her team got? She doesn't control the board, does she? As for me, direct experiences and those of many people I know. Vinod's duplicity is well-known.
      - wozniacki 13y ago
        Care to cite a Khosla-gate? I don't remember one. I'm sure a Calacanis or a Wilson would have exposed a crooked VC with show & stow tactics. Others have been flogged quite publicly. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=893845 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=893845 http://betabeat.com/2011/12/pay-to-pitch-how-much-is-too-much/ http://betabeat.com/2011/12/pay-to-pitch-how-much-is-too-muc... http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2009/10/paying-to-pitch.html http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2009/10/paying-to-pitch.html
bdcravens 13y ago
He never said "his does". Additionally, read the last paragraph. He alluded to his failure, and the implicit uncertainty of giving qualified advice.
- ada1981 13y ago
  The ol' "Damaging Admission".
  - hnnnnng 13y ago
    Theres no way to win, is there? One doesn't state that he/she has probably made mistakes == person is implying he's never given bad advice. One does state that he/she has probably made mistakes == its the "ol' Damning Admission" strategy Do you even think?
    - yuhong 13y ago
      Yea, it is not the old legacy PR age anymore.
    - dagw 13y ago
      Theres no way to win, is there? "The only way to win is not to play" is always a time honored strategy. What you say during your PR pitch is almost irrelevant (unless you fuck up catastrophically). The nature, location and the very fact that you're doing a PR pitch speaks much much louder than the content of your pitch.
rhizome 13y ago
I wonder if we can turn it around and use an aphorism that 70-80% of the advice from any particular VC should be ignored.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

unono 13y ago

Vinod Khosla is one of the few good guy VCs out there. He's invested in high tech foods, robots, energy, healthcare, farming. He runs a Google X type fund.

jedc 13y ago
Also, his first two funds were self-financed. He did well enough on those that when he started Khosla Ventures III he was able to raise $1Billion in LP money.
coleslawfail 13y ago
Not true. Yes he takes what appears to be big risks but he hedges by insisting on insane terms. Then it's his and only his company. A good guy he is not. Smart, yes. He does deals no one else will. There's value there but mostly to him and his LPs. The founders are mere employees. One easy test is the lack of YC companies in his portfolio. Another is the lack of big name founders he created. It's all about Vinod.
- unono 13y ago
  That doesn't sound so bad to me - sounds like capitalism - greed is good http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vscG3k91s58 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vscG3k91s58
  - coleslawfail 13y ago
    Of course, then there's insisting on 50% equity plus an options pool that comes from founder shares at the seed stage...
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]

casca 13y ago

If you have a pile of money at your disposal, it's not hard to invest in all the good things that Vinod Khosla invests in. Maybe his previous success was down to luck or maybe he's not one of those VCs that "add negative value", but it'll be a good few years before there's any feedback on the quality of his more recent choices.

marcamillion 13y ago

Vinod is so refreshing to listen to. Obviously there would be a lot of pushback from the HN crowd - because there are many VCs here.....go figure. He reminds me of the Elon Musk of the VC industry.

coleslawfail 13y ago
That's his con. Then you go to them, pitch, and they want half your company. New/naive founders get Bad Vinod. Experienced founders who don't need him get Good Vinod. Sadly it's an open secret.
- coleslawfail 13y ago
  For those down voting me, please go ahead and list all of the YC Companies who have taken money from him. He's supposed to be soooo founder friendly. So why do the best early stage startups avoid him?
  - data_app 13y ago
    YC is just a small sample of the startup world.
  - ankitoberoi 13y ago
    Interview street is a YC company, backed by them. They seem like doing fine to me.
  - hnnnnng 13y ago
    Unfortunately, lack of evidence that he has funded YC Companies is not evidence that hes a bad VC. I'm not saying he isn't, instead, if you could provide proof from various (more than 5) founders that have obtained funding from him and yet feel this way, it might make for a better argument.
    - coleslawfail 13y ago
      I didn't say he's a bad VC. I'm sure his LPs love him. He's just not who he markets himself as. It's not about you and your company. It's about him. As for YC, they have what, 400 companies? For a guy who is supposedly (self-proclaimed) so founder friendly, and has $3B in funds, not one big YC company has taken money from him? Your proof is not how the Valley works, in my view. They know and so they steer clear. That's the glaring proof. Good companies stay away until it's growth equity. Heck, look at Square. They gave Khosla a board seat as part of a huge valuation. He certainly didnt get that company off the ground.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

coleslawfail 13y ago

Wish I could say this openly but the secret truth in the Valley is connected startups know to avoid seed/A round money from Khosla, if you can. They are very aggressive on terms and it's all about Vinod. They do plain shady stuff, like share your details and plans with their portfolio companies. At a seed stage they regular push for 50% of the equity and call it an "experiment". Then rather stick behind you, they pull the plug. Don't believe me? Take a look at their portfolio and ask why with all of their resources so few YC companies are there. Xobni and ...? The other bigger companies all took growth equity not early money. In all my time in the Valley the gap between Vinod's public persona and the underlying truth is the biggest con I've run into. And of course he just keeps up the PR cause that's his best source of naive founders. Few others send him deals to lead. The good ones they keep to themselves and shut him out, until he gets in a growth terms (e.g. Square).

unono 13y ago
The flip side is does he help you succeed? You just made a case for why you should be in his portfolio - he'll go to the lengths of shady stuff to help you out. He openly admits he's tough, but that's out of wanting all of his investments to succeed.
- coleslawfail 13y ago
  You? No. He helps himself, first and foremost. And it goes far beyond an ROI. He makes sure he's uniquely in a position to win. That's not founder friendly. Again, the proof is in the portfolio. He wins, few founders have with him. The lack of YC there is telling...
rdl 13y ago
The good thing I've heard about Khosla Ventures is that they're fast to make decisions (a trait shared by a16z, Sequoia, and most of the other "best" firms, especially newer ones). Stringing people along for a long time is one of the worst things to do when raising funding -- this says nothing about the experience after taking funding, though.
- 13y ago

dragonwriter 13y ago

Most startups add negative value to VCs, too. Its high-risk, high-potential-reward on both sides of the street.

gilgoomesh 13y ago

Surely, Sturgeon's Law applies here? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_Law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_Law 90% of everything is crap. Why should VC's be any different?

npguy 13y ago

Given the effort that VCs put in to understand the business, this ratio of value addition is not surprising. http://fakevalley.com/conmen-arrested-for-cheating-vcs-by-setting-up-garages-in-sfo-bay-area/ http://fakevalley.com/conmen-arrested-for-cheating-vcs-by-se...

jmtame 13y ago

The VC connects wealthy investors to nerds. There are few alternatives. You can self-fund by consulting and by setting aside money for your venture. That doesn't work. Can you elaborate on this part? Is this a pattern you noticed in many entrepreneurs? I can recall at least one successful startup that had to contract early on in order to get by. They were in my YC batch and they're now doing pretty well.

paulhauggis 13y ago

..except the positive value of the cash you need from a VC to survive.

rvivek 13y ago

We (interviewstreet, YC s2011) raised money from Khosla ventures and Vinod is my main point of contact in the firm. I don't know about other experiences but to us he has been of tremendous help in advice, connections (he knows the entire world and isn't shy to connect to people he knows for a valid reason) and in hiring people. He has taken at least 8 interviews for me in the last 5 months for VP/PM roles - sometimes to evaluate and sometimes to convince. I think it depends on the entrepreneur on how much involved and close you want to be with your VC. Some of their operating partners - Keith Rabois, Ben Ling, Mark Jung, Flo (recruiting), Mojgan (PR), etc. are big resources to leverage on. I'm not trying to evangelize the firm in any way here but just putting it across that there are pros & cons in every VC firm and it boils down to what the entrepreneur actually wants. I have personally met entrepreneurs who just want a high valuation, that's it. The need varies. Every entrepreneur's goal is to make his/her company successful and if the odds are high in getting a particular investor on board, then do it. Btw, I think there are a lot of YC companies after our batch which raised money from Khosla ventures - instantcab, instacart are the ones on top of my mind.

lmartel 13y ago
Clearly the shortcut to quality VC funding is to pitch a startup named /in.*/ to YCombinator!
- lifeisstillgood 13y ago
  * indolence.com - hire people to go to work for you, while you catch up on DVD box set * inflight.com - bored of the usual movies? hire us to mime the latest blockbuster in the aisle seat next to you * inkling.com - stuck on a crossword clue? we shall mail you hints for the answer to NYT's brain bogglers * incert.com - want to pass that exam and get the CERTificate? we connect you with best local tutors oh boy I am sooooo going to be in the next round :-)
coleslawfail 13y ago
Glad you have had a positive experience. I wish you the best in building your company. Can you comment on why so few YC companies have raised from them? My comments have received a total of 53 points. KV has tried suing thefunded. And big, successful startups haven't taken his money.

durandal1 13y ago

And 90% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

CurtMonash 13y ago

The VC who, by far, most subtracted value from my startup Evernet was Vinod Khosla. He was still at Kleiner Perkins then. He also in those days still prided himself on how successfully he negotiated against entrepreneurs.

coleslawfail 13y ago
Thank you for saying this publicly. If more did the bubble around his persona would quickly pop. I'd have no problem if all he did was negotiate good terms. He certainly owes his LPs that. The problem I have is presents the persona as being founder friendly. Sadly, he's at the far other side of that spectrum.
- CurtMonash 13y ago
  I guess the most favorable spin would be "That was long ago, and Vinod hopefully has learned better by now."
  - coleslawfail 13y ago
    Nope, he hasn't except to know who to mess with. New founders get Bad Vinod. Experienced founders get Good Vinod.

quique 13y ago

First off as a rule of thumb, I generally avoid talking about people. In the rare case I do, it's only if I've had significant experience with them. As an operating partner with Khosla Ventures for the past two years, below are a couple things that I respect about Vinod that entrepreneurs may misinterpret in all the tech gossip. 1) Bold leadership Rather than be in the business of doing "deals," putting money in, getting money out - Vinod is truly in the business of building companies with meaningful impact on the world. Research KV's portfolio and you'll see how Vinod is contributing to fundamental human needs in food, agriculture, clean energy, healthcare and education among many other areas. He even setup an impact fund where others aren't investing. His leadership pushes me to focus on making a bigger and positive difference in people's lives. Also read his perspective on Silicon Valley: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/khosla-the-silicon-valley-vision/ http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/khosla-the-silicon-... To me, it was a healthy reminder not to be so small minded and uphold our larger purpose for innovation. 2) Honest feedback I highly recommend you read Vinod's point of view on venture assistance and the role of board members before commenting on this thread: http://www.khoslaventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Venture_Assistance1.pdf http://www.khoslaventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Ven... I admit, I've been in meetings where's he's given me candid, no BS feedback. Although sometimes it was uncomfortable to hear, ultimately I'm thankful because it made be a better entrepreneur and designer. I prefer honesty from someone who challenges me to be great rather than hypocritical politeness. Think about all the great founders of our time, from Steve Jobs to Mark Zuckerberg - they all have strong points of view that not everyone can get along with but don't confuse this with being a jerk: http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/09/do-you-need-to-be-a-jerk-to-be-a-successful-entrepreneur/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/09/do-you-need-to-be-a-jerk-to...