It's easy to bash projects that fail. Wall Street is stuck in this place where they keep investing in the same boring business they have been for decades. They set unreal expectations, that cause firms to fudge numbers, leading to bail outs. Wall Street is short sighted and doesn't look at the big picture. Hell, if I was part of the largest (corporate) welfare class as well, I would bash failed ventures as well.
Fortunately, I am not tied to group think, so I can be as creative as I would like to be. VC's are great. They take chances, and are willing to invest in things that are more than likely to fail than be successful. Discovery is the ultimate reward, and I am more than happy to lose money so long as it leads to a discovery that helps society as a whole.
VC's allow for experimentation, and even if the experiment fails, lessons are always learned. It's amazing how narrow minded business people are. Personally, I feel that knowledge gained is priceless and far outweighs short term profits. Thank you VC's for taking chances and for willing to think outside the box.
TL;DR: Knowledge is the ultimate return on investment.
VCs are great if they're funding your startup. That's not what this article (and report) are about - they're about how VCs don't really serve their real clients, the LPs who invest in them.
This matters - those LPs are generally large state and corporate pension funds, who may be investing YOUR retirement money. Many funds are underfunded and now are trying to chase yields, because they have always projected 7-8% annual returns across the fund and the traditional stock and bond markets have not been consistently providing that. So they're dumping more money into PE and VC funds in a (potentially disastrous) game of catch-up, because they alternative would be admitting defeat and the need to either cut benefits or massively increase funding of the pensions.
Sorry but this argument is some combination of naive, inane and/or b.s. VCs are financial investors and their investors (the LPs like Kaufmann) who give them money are expecting a return. Discovery, social good, changing the world and other euphemisms don't cut it for them as that is not what they are sold. They are sold a story of high risk, high reward, and per these #s, that was not what was generated.
TL;DR: Until pension funds and endowments are happy to be compensated in rainbows and hugs, returns are the only thing that matter.
Fortunately, I am not tied to group think, so I can be as creative as I would like to be. VC's are great. They take chances, and are willing to invest in things that are more than likely to fail than be successful. Discovery is the ultimate reward, and I am more than happy to lose money so long as it leads to a discovery that helps society as a whole.
VC's allow for experimentation, and even if the experiment fails, lessons are always learned. It's amazing how narrow minded business people are. Personally, I feel that knowledge gained is priceless and far outweighs short term profits. Thank you VC's for taking chances and for willing to think outside the box.
TL;DR: Knowledge is the ultimate return on investment.