…but it’s still depressing. Was talking to a girl the other night who was “really into classic rock.”
That’s Cool.
“Yeah, I love Nirvana, The Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine. You know, all those old bands!”
That’s not funny.
A few nights ago, I had drinks with a friend of mine who works for a venture capital firm, and we were talking about risk aversion. He was berating others in the industry — his investors in particular — for being afraid to take risks. Everyone was “too afraid to lose money to make money.”
Then it occurred to me.
“Well what kind of risks do you take?”
“Are you kidding? We’ve funded some of the most risky early-stage ventures out there. That’s what it’s about.”
“Yeah, but that’s not your money. What kind of risks do you take? I mean how do you put your own money (or life) at risk?”
“Well, I put my reputation on the line whenever I recommend an investment.”
“Uh Huh. But you’re paid to makes those calls. You are not fired or fined — or even maimed — if you get it wrong. You have to deploy the money. You are punished if you don’t do so. In your case, taking a real risk would be not investing money when other VCs are because you considered the investment to be too risky. In a sense you are just as risk averse as your investors.”
“It’s your round.”
Back in Winchester I saw two Hummers with “Support Our Troops” stickers on the back. Something about that makes we just want to bitch-slap the driver. I can respect a 55 mpg Toyota Prius owner telling me to support the troops, but a 9mpg Hummer owner? Get real.
To make matters worse it turns out these stickers aren’t even stickers they are magnets. That way they won’t damage the finish and can be easily removed once supporting the troops is no longer fashionable.
The gas-guzzling Hummer with a “Support Our Troops” magnet on the back. I can’t think of a more apt metaphor for America’s view of the Iraq war.
The site has been down for a few days. We were hacked while I was in Washington DC. I’ve changed the locks, so things are secure, but please be patient while I sweep up the broken glass, repair the furniture, and generally get things back to normal.