Maybe so. But there is life outside venture capital - lots of it, in fact. Most of America's biggest companies got started outside the VC ecosystem. It's possible, although it may take some unconventional thinking at times.
The other point to bear in mind is that a bad startup does not mean any particular individual was responsible. I've had a bad startup in my lifetime and went on to have a successful 2nd one, as did 2 of my cofounders there. The original startup was VC funded. 2 of the 3 others were not.
The other point to bear in mind is that a bad startup does not mean any particular individual was responsible.
I agree 125%. Everyone who understands business knows that it's a risky world in which good people can make mistakes, or even do everything right and still fail.
My point is that this "we accept failure" attitude in VC-istan is paper-thin. If you're a 35-year-old with a 32-year-old's resume, you're judged to be a permanent loser, and you're competing with people who haven't made mistakes yet.
When VCs say "we invest in people, not ideas" they're full of shit. They invest in resumes. Oh, and if you want to become fundable, you should spend your 20s in finance, not tech, so as to exploit the VCs' "just like me" bias. Dirty secret: most founders are ex-bankers and traders. There's a reason for that.
If all you have to show is a resume and ideas, the above is probably true. You're then subject to all the stereotyping and pattern-matching that VCs are known for.
Many VCs respect traction and revenue though, so going on ideas alone is not the only way.
As for the part about most founders being ex-bankers and traders part, that's not my experience, at least. Nor does it seem to be true of most of the tech founders I read about, although alot of them certainly do bring in financial firepower as their companies grow.
The other point to bear in mind is that a bad startup does not mean any particular individual was responsible. I've had a bad startup in my lifetime and went on to have a successful 2nd one, as did 2 of my cofounders there. The original startup was VC funded. 2 of the 3 others were not.