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????很多已經完成了種子融資的科技初創公司由于無法獲得風險投資人的后續投資，可能最終倒閉。這一輪“Series A融資收緊”（?資深撰稿人薩拉?萊西）引發了一些人幸災樂禍的情緒，情形與人們聽到話題女王林賽·羅韓缺錢時的表現如出一轍。 ????完成種子融資就意味著會有人眼紅。 ????首先申明一點，筆者是精英理念的堅定支持者。最優秀的公司應當獲得融資，垃圾公司應當關門，以便員工能追求更有價值的事業。 ????但我不是特別明白的是，為什么這么多人相信風投是萬無一失的試金石。正是這些風險投資家中的很多人，在互聯網泡沫破裂前幫著吹大了泡沫——讓衰退的陰霾彌漫到了整個美國。正是這些人在Facebook等公司剛剛起步時，戛然放緩了投資步伐。正是這些人對社交游戲公司Zynga等后期公司給出了荒唐的估值。正是這些人讓安德魯·梅森在團購網站Groupon 首次公開募股之前將所有股票套現。大家以為最先向Solyndra投資的人是誰? ????我要說的不是風投都是笨蛋，而是他們也會犯錯。不妨看看Bessemer Venture Partners承認錯過的那些公司。每家風投都犯過錯，不難想象會有些優質公司被錯過，而一些不該拿到融資的公司拿到了融資。實際上，“Series A融資收緊”可能意味著風投正在犯下更多、而不是更少的錯誤（因為風投的時間越來越緊張，而需要篩選的、已完成種子融資的交易越來越多）。 ????還有一件事：大罵“傻瓜天使投資人”之前，或許應該先了解一下，為什么他們一開始要投資這么多公司。研究顯示，天使投資人投資的初創公司越多，獲得積極回報的可能性越高。我說的可不是5和2的區別。我說的是50，而不是10。 ????但別讓我掃了興，大家盡管幸災樂禍地看著硅谷那幫傻乎乎追逐夢想（或者幫助別人追逐夢想）的家伙們吧。我相信風投最后會把一切都搞定的。 ????譯者：早稻米 |
????Lots of tech startups that raised seed funding can't get follow-on investments from venture capitalists, thus causing the companies to disappear. It's being called the "Series A crunch" (? Sarah Lacy), and has sparked the type of schadenfreude usually reserved for Lindsay Lohan's money troubles. ????Be seeded, be resented. ????To be clear, I'm a firm believer in the idea of meritocracy. The best companies should get funded, and the crappy ones should fold so their employees can move on to more worthwhile pursuits. ????What I don't quite get, however, is why so many people believe venture capitalists are infallible arbiters of what rocks and what sucks. These are many of the same venture capitalists who helped inflate the dotcom bubble before it burst -- getting its recessionary goo all over America. And the same ones who slowed down their investing pace in the middle aughts, when companies like Facebook were just getting started. And who gave absurd later-stage valuations to companies like Zynga (ZNGA). And who let Andrew Mason cash out all of that Groupon (GRPN) stock pre-IPO. And who do you think first put money into Solyndra? ????My point isn't that venture capitalists are dummies. It's that they make mistakes. Just take a look at the companies that Bessemer Venture Partners admits to passing on. Every firm has them, and it's not unreasonable to think that certain quality startups fall through the cracks. Or that some undeserving companies get to move forward. In fact, the "Series A crunch" likely means that more errors are being made, rather than fewer (since VCs are sorting through an increased number of seed-funded deals, without getting more hours in the day). ????One more thing: Before insulting all those "dopey angel investors," it might be worth understanding why they backed so many companies in the first place. Research has shown that angels have the best chance of producing positive returns by investing in more, not fewer, startups. And I don't mean five rather than two. I mean 50 rather than 10. ????But don't let me ruin the fun of feeling superior to all those folks in Silicon Valley who foolishly chased their dreams (or who helped others to do so). I'm sure that venture capitalists will make everything work out okay. |
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