Backseat Driving Usually Causes Accidents
I was at the Microsoft TechFest 2007 event yesterday (separate blog entry on it coming) and while there, took some time to meet up with some companies looking for funding.
During one of the presentations, I was impressed with the team and very impressed with the ability of the team to clearly articulate the pain. We then got to the solution.
I listened, pondered, and responded with: "Hmmm, maybe but I'd do it this way if it were me." I proceed to explain my idea.
The response was: "Well, cool, we can do it your way, we're just looking for funding."
These guys can now vouch for my "fast no" policy.
The point here, besides the naked sucking up trap, is that I am not driving the company, I'm funding a solution which will generate returns for you and my limited partners. Toward that end, I want to believe in your story, your ideas, your solutions and not design your product/company. While I might have some ideas, great, in the end, it's your thing. I'm investing in you, your team, and your solution.
After hearing a pitch, I usually feed it back to the entrepreneur just to make sure we are on the same page. I'll ask lots of questions, offer up a view, etc, but in the end, I am looking for a great team to drive an idea to success, not a bunch of people to execute on some half baked mush that comes out of my mouth. If I'm in left field, you say no to me; that's the right thing to do.
Beware of backseat drivers in your business. They usually grab the wheel at the wrong time and cause serious pile ups with fatalities.
While the entrepreneurs in question were a little too obvious about it, far too many VCs enjoy being able to "help" startups refine their business plan. I've seen many examples of more sophisticated entrepreneurs being able to strike just the right balance of pushback and suckup.
Posted by: Chris Yeh | March 08, 2007 at 02:40
Ha! you need a filter before these kind of guys get to you!
Posted by: Colin Henderson | March 08, 2007 at 23:39
Ha, it’s like getting directions from someone who tells you about a 'short cut' that ends up taking five times longer. As I wrote recently in a posting:
"The day you start to do product development based on what the last potential investor said to you is the day you need to take a step back and remember why you created your invention in the first place"
:-)
Posted by: Leigh | March 10, 2007 at 19:17
beware of backseat drivers in board meetings. there needs to be a manual for entrepreneurs on how to deal with monologuing board members.
Do you think VCs can teach entrepreneurs focus?
Posted by: ventureblogalist | March 13, 2007 at 06:32