Fair Dealings
Fund: Trinity Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-10-06
Out of the VC firms that we spoke to I believe Trinity was the most upfront. Have noted a marked difference between the "money guys" (those that work in finance and have never run, much less understand, how to build a company) and former entrepreneurs. Alex O being one of the latter (and they are statistically much rarer) is a much better character to deal with.
I'll offer my personal opinion on the sharply divergent opines presented here on Alex. He's a very direct person; if he thinks your business model is wack he'll probably say so right to your face. On the other hand some frankness in an industry of vague mumbling non-speak is refreshing and there's a (big) difference between constructive feedback and being a jerk.
After what we've learned about the VC industry I'm not sure we'll elect to go this route after the self-funding and angel options. What the last poster has referenced about the VC industry is true across the board - somewhere the VCs took the V out of it, and due diligence has become borderline, and perhaps just pure and total fear. Regardless if we were to consider this route in the near future, Trinity takes top marks in all the firms we spoke to for pure honesty in what point they would want in, what to do to make it succeed, and how quickly they would move.
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