https://newsletter.mollywhite.net/p/the-venture-capitalists-dilemma
"A little less than a year ago I made some venture capitalists very angry when
I made an offhand remark in an episode of
Crypto Critics’ Corner: “I mean, I
would probably argue that venture capitalists are not good for society
regardless of what they’re investing in.” I am always surprised at how
controversial a statement that is, and how much it attracts the kind of “not
all venture capitalists!” sort of reaction that’s usually reserved for
criticism of cops and landlords.
I am feeling particularly secure in my opinion on the investor class after the
shitshow we just witnessed, where a relatively small group of venture
capitalists and various other financiers did not, let’s say, cover themselves
in glory.
When it became apparent to this small group of very powerful, very wealthy
individuals that Silicon Valley Bank — the bank used by much of the Silicon
Valley startup ecosystem — was on shaky footing, they had a choice to make.
They could remain calm, urge the founders of companies they’d invested in to do
the same, and hope the bank could weather the storm. Or, they could all pull
their money out, urge their founders to do so also, and hope that they or their
companies were not the ones left standing in the teller line when the liquidity
dried up.
Faced with the choice between the more communal, cooperative choice and the
self-serving, every-man-for-himself choice destined to end in a bank run, it
should be no surprise which option they picked. As the Titanic sank, they were
the ones pushing people out of the lifeboats."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
