Fraser Kelton has an excellent post on the challenges facing the venture business up on his Disruptive Thoughts blog.Fred also adds this thought:
I would suggest one rule and only one. Be the entrepreneur's partner. Help him or her. Be there for them. Support them. Counsel them. Share the risk with them. Have fun with them. Laugh and cry with them. And make boatloads of money with them. It's a time tested formula and it will work forever.Ok, so what sayest Rick Segal And Doc Searls?
[Rick and Doc are having an ongoing conversation about how the venture capital business can work in a "Web 2.0" envirionment, when large helpings of cash aren't always needed. How then does a VC add value, if his main raison d'etre [i.e. Cash] is not needed in the equation?]
Posted by hugh macleod at January 28, 2006 2:59 PM | TrackBackHi Hugh, this is of personal interest to me.
A couple of years ago I started a small online company that helps authors to become publishers, completely bypassing the traditional publishing and vanity publishing industry.
We started the company with $20,000 in cash, raised by the two partners. Some of that money paid for web development, but most of it was just in the bank to make sure that we had adequate cash flow. We attracted the attention of a couple of money people but decided to build the company slowly and without giving up the day job.
We're still around, growing organically and moving forward. I still have a day job, but that's mostly due to the fact that I love my day job. I've just taken on a new partner who is bringing a modest investment which we'll use for R&R purposes but that's all. We have no debt, no shareholder obligations, no projected earning reports. Most of our business is coming from word of mouth - it's enough to keep us busy.
It's not always stress free, but it's a really nice way to build something that is 100% yours.
Posted by: Andreas Duess at January 28, 2006 4:21 PMHi. I have a blog at www.ematite.livejournal.com, and I think I will post (or link) your "How to be creative" thing, one of these days. I'll put credits, of course.
Just wanted to inform you about this and -above all- to thank you. I enjoy drawing cartoons and illustrations, too, and I've found all you wrote very helpful.