Why many VCs are toxic people

Feel like VCs are giving you the cold shoulder as a non CEO cofounder? Or that their behavior in general is just... not how normal people act? It's not just you. There are structural and relationship reasons this happens.

VC is a world with none of the normal checks and balances on behavior that the real world has. VCs raise money from LPs, who are all part of the same bros-they-already-know network. And these VCs don't have to show their work until their fund is ready to cash out 7-10 years later. The LPs generally have no influence whatsoever on how funds operate, and really no insight into either operations or performance.

The actual work of these investors is to sit in judgment day after day over entrepreneurs who can't risk damaging back chatter in the VC networks, and who therefore can't speak up when investors behave badly.

And I've seen such crappy behavior - showing a near-naked picture of a girlfriend on Zoom, taking a pitch deck and sending it to a portfolio company that is a direct competitor, putting out a term sheet then ignoring calls from interested co-investors, dropping out of a round the week of closing with no explanation.

They're things you and I would never do in a work environment.

And this is where our economy's innovation capital is locked up. With these people.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Sure makes you think...

I'm not your lawyer, your therapist, your advisor, or your accountant. We're just internet friends, and these are just my experiences and personal opinions. Consult professionals for advice before you make any sudden moves in your startup.

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