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Great... at Being Bad Investors
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2009-07-09
Avoid...
PRIVATE: Members Only (607 Characters)Lowpoint
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2008-09-26
Talk about a lot of potential lost. These guys can pick winning companies, just look at their portfolio, but then it is a slippery slope to a point where their meddling in business affairs messes everything up. They try so hard to "cover every contingency" in the terms and "generate liquidity" in the deal that they end up distracting the management to the point where they are managing Redpoint, not the business.
And, while they get an "A" for effort, they get a "D" for experience. The advice given is often poor and frequently changes. They choose the worst time to intervene with their advice, usually when a company is having little problems, but doing well overall. The kiss of death: bother a team when under the gun.
And, Redpoint is slow to support follow-on rounds. Instead of saying "yes" when a growing company asks for resources, they drag you through a time consuming game. They also wait to the last minute to help with fundraising, which allows them to control the dynamics and the valuation.
If they choose you, you probably have a good company. Get financed somewhere else.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyHigh Interest, Then Stall
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-05-26
Very surprising behavior. First, "all over it," with lots of assurances that they can move quickly, yada yada. Then nothing... total silence... not a hint of an issue with our business model or anything, just no response. Quite unprofessional.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyRadio Silence
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-05-04
Excitement from Scott and Tim after a pitch. They said they were "very impressed" and were asking for followup meetings the next week. Then radio silence.
PRIVATE: Members Only (43 Characters)No Value Add but Cash
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2008-05-20
Redpoint was our lead investor at $4M. The deal got done because Walecka wanted it. Unfortunately, since he's never had any job but the one he's in, he and the partners don't really understand the day to day of running a business and never understood our execution model. They interfered and micromanaged.
We raised another $30M in subsequent rounds and eventually sold the company, but we would have been better off with less money initially from someone more involved with the business. These guys are cocky and know-it-alls, but don't provide any value. There are much better firms out there.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyThe Little Things
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-12-15
They showed intense interest, set out a gameplan, promised to move quickly then complete silence. Not even the courtesy of a 'no'. Very disrespectful.
PRIVATE: Members Only (104 Characters)Don't Be Shy, Talk to Me!
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-11-26
Everybody tells that Redpoint is great, well, maybe, probably we'll never know. We pitched to Tom Dyal, all was great, sent the materials and ... silence ... nothing ... is he rude or just would do anything not to say 'no'"
hmmm...
PRIVATE: Members OnlyAll Over the Place
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by rcbl on 2007-11-12
Went to Redpoint to pitch a company but was warned by a lot (>5) of fellow entrepreneurs and even one angel that the place was not totally trustworthy. We had a good meeting, but didn't feel much of a fit.
PRIVATE: Members Only (127 Characters)Bipolar Partnership
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-08-07
I agree with the poster that said if Yang, Walecka or the whole partnership wants it, it gets done. They can be very good and/or helpful, but many of the partners have no "mojo"
PRIVATE: Members Only (345 Characters)Smart Folks, but No Mojo
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by beyondfunded on 2007-08-17
I met with Chris Moore a few times and I must say he's a really smart, down to Earth guy, and very polite. Also, he shows respect for the entrepreneur, which is so unusual for VCs. At the same time, he was very clear on how he and his partners never leave the pack... they religiously follow the herd.
PRIVATE: Members Only (71 Characters)Satish Dharmaraj
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by anonymous on 2011-03-05
We never met him, but he back-stabbed our startup/founder and created many problems to us.This kind of behavior hurts not only our startup, but also startup culture in SV.
Hope we stop witch-hunt projects and move on to help entrepreneurs to build great companies in the valley.
PRIVATE: Members OnlySlow
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by showmethemoney on 2008-02-18
Pitched Scott Raney. Good guy, respectful, and seems like he would be good to work with. But he was slow to give an answer - really dragged it out over about six weeks. I suspect it was obviously mixed feelings about our business but also I don't think Scott has the pull to make things happen quickly there. Redpoint should be better at either moving things along or killing it.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyAvoid Big Egos, Not Much Else
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by a former portfolio executive on 2012-07-20
Nety Krishna is Not Trustworthy
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by serial entrepreneur on 2010-10-27
my cofounder and i presented to nety. all he wanted was the pitch and more information on the secret sauce. he comes from applied materials and positions himself as someone who can help you with technology but he is so far removed and knows the buzzwords of technology. when you asked me a second level question, he pretends to think and answers with the same buzzwords in the question. it was clear to me that he has no clue but is trying to know much about our technology and cross pollinate. his job is to do technology due diligence for cleantech practice at redpoint which does not exist.
PRIVATE: Members Only (391 Characters)Several Good Meetings
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-12-10
We had several good meetings with them. Fouad ElNaggar asked very good questions that helped us focus our strategy. Tim Haley had some good perspectives as well. Our pitches didn't result in funding, but in general their feedback was critical in helping us close funding from other sources.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyConsensus Driven, Lots of Due Dil
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-05-04
These guys are smart, but the groupthink is staggering. There's only three ways to get a deal done - Yang wants it, Walecka wants it, or you have consensus among the whole partnership. No surprise they do lots of syndicate deals. These guys will take their time, for sure. If you don't have another term sheet, you will never get one from Redpoint. They shy away on big valuations too.
That all being said, the few CEO's I have met in their companies say they are very helpful in recruiting, M&A, and introductions to big companies.
PRIVATE: Members Only (76 Characters)Dishonest Dealings
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2010-07-24
Beware of the junior partners at this VC firm. Some of these guys are nothing but scavengers. Nety Krishna is one of them. This particular individual is devious and dishonest.
Do not present him and to this VC firm what you as an entrepreneur think has any value. After he takes your information he goes in to radio silence.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyWill Recommend Allen Beasley
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by markdiamond on 2007-08-07
Have been impressed by Allen Beasley.
PRIVATE: Members Only (84 Characters)Detailed Due Dil
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-05-09
I have to agree, when we raised our round last year, these guys did the most diligence.
PRIVATE: Members Only (36 Characters)Any Redpoint Investees?
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2010-04-21
Straightforward Answers
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by bootstrapper on 2007-06-23
I was impressed that these guys were willing to refer to other, smaller VC, where they may have dry powder and our deal would be even sexier.
PRIVATE: Members Only (295 Characters)We Were Too Early
Fund: Redpoint Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2008-02-01
Red Point was recommended to us very early in the gestation of the company. What we really needed was seed funding, not VC. We had an extremely positive meeting with Fouad ElNaggar and Tim Haley. They were engaged in the concept and asked excellent questions. After the meeting they acknowledged that we were too early for them, but then connected us to a number of potential sources for seed funding. They continue to express interest and track our progress.
PRIVATE: Members Only (185 Characters)