Why VCs Really Reject Startups

itwbennett writes "Instead of simply not following up with startup proposals that he doesn't intend to pursue, venture capitalist Josh Breinlinger decided to change things up and not only hear every pitch request but respond with honest feedback. For those on the receiving end of that honest feedback, Breinlinger's silence may have been golden. It turns out that Breinlinger, and perhaps most VCs, reject your proposals because you lack experience and leadership skills and your team is weak. Would you rather hear the hard truth about why your startup didn't get funded or some vague dismissal?"

Because your idea sucks

[alen]

In the 90's people were getting funded to build a website and a forum

Today it's the same thing except its called social media. Seems like every other idea I read about is a Facebook/pinterest/instagram clone

Unless you have a cool idea that solves some kind of problem like square or one of the other payment startups go back and think up of something new

Re:Then it's not VC

[Anubis IV]

You've created a false dichotomy where there is none. Venture capital is a form of investment, it merely tends to be higher risk and higher reward than the general case. Just because they're willing to accept higher risk does not mean that they're fools interested in squandering their money on worthless endeavors that have no hope. It's still an investment, and they still want to see a return on it.

While "venture capitalist" wasn't the correct term, we do have a term for people who don't insist on strong leadership before investing: fool. And you know what they say about fools and their money...

Re:Hard truth

[timeOday]

IMHO what's difficult is giving constructive feedback to somebody who doesn't interview well or doesn't perform well on the job simply because they aren't very intelligent. I don't know what to tell them. It's not helpful to say "don't get confused so often" or "have better ideas."

(And I say this freely admitting there are people smart enough to justifiably feel the same way about me.)

Re:Hard truth

[Surt]

I wish life were a meritocracy. It'd be so much better a world to live in. The actuality is closer to a corrupt lottery.

Re:Hard truth

[iamhassi]

Am I the only one that thinks article is incredibly obvious?

"you lack experience and leadership skills and your team is weak" = Thx Captain Obvious, think every startup is started by the guy with 20+ yrs experience and a terrific team willing to work for ZERO pay?

Then just buy the idea. Facebook would have survived without zuckerberg and all the other great startups out there probably didn't need the person that originally started it. Once the ball is rolling you just need people with the experience and a great team to keep it going.