Perhaps it’s just a sign of a
bubble, but I’ve had several people (entrepreneurs, partners at venture firms
and junior partners/senior associates) ask me in the past month whether I was
thinking about leaving venture capital to join a company. Their thinking generally
follows the logic that given the new Web 2.0 paradigm (presumably they mean the
idea that you can build a net business relatively inexpensively, generate some
traffic and either cash flow it or sell it off) there’s a better chance to
create wealth in the next 2-4 years by working on the operating side of the
world than in venture capital.
Given how difficult it is to
land a job in venture capital (not to mention how fun the work is), it may
sound strange that people are even considering this, but in the course of these
conversations a number of examples always come up of sr. associate/vp/principal
level colleagues who have jumped ship for what is perceived to be the greener
pastures of the company side of the fence.
The last thing anyone should do is to pile on wherever VCs, Harvard MBAs, and other "smart money" people are doing.
A vast influx of Harvard MBAs is a near-certain sign that the end is nigh...and I know, since I am one.
Posted by: Chris Yeh | June 10, 2006 at 12:54 AM
I know a lot of VC's and I know a lot of entrepreneurs.
It's two very different skill sets, and more importantly, it's two very different ways of looking at the world.
Posted by: Erik | June 10, 2006 at 11:16 AM