Steve Blank: Why VCs Should Be Startup CEOs
“A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.” -Mark Twain VCs who are serious about turning their firms into more than one-fund wonders may want to have their associates actually start and run a company for a year. Running a company is distinctly different from simply having operating experience – (working in bus dev, sales or marketing.) None of that can compare with being the CEO of a startup facing a rapidly diminishing bank account, your best engineer quitting, working until 10pm and rushing to the airport and catching a redeye for a “Hail Mary” close of a customer, with your board demanding you do it faster. Today, you can start a web/mobile/cloud startup for $500,000 and have money left over. Every potential early-stage VC should take a year and do it before he or she makes partner. Over time Venture firms realized that the partners in the firms need a variety of skills:
