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And our startups will succeed or fail quite independently of what Peter Thiel, Paul Graham, Sam Altman, Marc Andressen, Ron Conway, et al., think. Even if that

And our startups will succeed or fail quite independently of what Peter Thiel, Paul Graham, Sam Altman, Marc Andressen, Ron Conway, et al., think. Even if that's true, it's beside the point. You still care what the VCs think of you, independent of their effect on the success or failure of your business. If it succeeds, you need to be sure that the board keeps you in place. What use is it to build a successful business if you lose your position and equity? (You're an idiot if you end up in a position where you lose all your equity, but what I'm saying is still valid.) If it fails, you need the VCs to line you up with an EIR position or an executive role at a portfolio company so you can recover your savings, repair your reputation, and get out there again. If you don't have the VCs in your pocket, then the personal pressures that are on you can keep you from being able to make the right decisions for your business. So, yeah, they matter.

nostrademons 12y ago
For someone so cognizant of how status games work, your comment betrays such an assumption of helplessness and low status in your own beliefs. If you want to avoid being removed from your own startup, don't seek VC until you have enough negotiating leverage that you can keep a majority of board seats. It's that simple. If your startup fails, there will be a large number of other startups, giant tech companies, etc. that are willing to hire you, as long as you demonstrate you learned something. It happened to me after my first startup, it happened to you, it's just you squandered the opportunity to recover your savings and repair your reputation within Google. If the VCs are putting personal pressure on you to make the wrong decisions and they don't have a board majority, then listen carefully to them, and if they're still wrong on reflection, gently explain to them what the right decision is, why it is so, and then say that you appreciate their advice but will make the right decision regardless. If they do have a board majority, then listen carefully to them, understand what they're saying, point out whatever information they're missing when they gave you that advice, and ask if they would still like you to make that decision, or would they prefer that you go make this other decision that incorporates all the information that both of you have? VCs - and anyone else - do not have any power over you other than what you give them. If working with them means making untenable concessions, don't work with them.

nostrademons 12y ago

For someone so cognizant of how status games work, your comment betrays such an assumption of helplessness and low status in your own beliefs. If you want to avoid being removed from your own startup, don't seek VC until you have enough negotiating leverage that you can keep a majority of board seats. It's that simple. If your startup fails, there will be a large number of other startups, giant tech companies, etc. that are willing to hire you, as long as you demonstrate you learned something. It happened to me after my first startup, it happened to you, it's just you squandered the opportunity to recover your savings and repair your reputation within Google. If the VCs are putting personal pressure on you to make the wrong decisions and they don't have a board majority, then listen carefully to them, and if they're still wrong on reflection, gently explain to them what the right decision is, why it is so, and then say that you appreciate their advice but will make the right decision regardless. If they do have a board majority, then listen carefully to them, understand what they're saying, point out whatever information they're missing when they gave you that advice, and ask if they would still like you to make that decision, or would they prefer that you go make this other decision that incorporates all the information that both of you have? VCs - and anyone else - do not have any power over you other than what you give them. If working with them means making untenable concessions, don't work with them.