Fein: Emerging VCs will not know their true performance for five years
John Fein · 20VC: The Ultimate Episode For Emerging Managers: How To Determine How Big A Fund To Raise, What Is The Right Closing Strategy With LPs & Why We Will Not See The Eradication of Pre-Seed with John Fein, Founder & Managing Partner @ Firebrand Ventures · Oct 7, 2019 · at 20:09
John Fein, Founder and Managing Partner at Firebrand Ventures, discusses the extended feedback loops and lack of immediate validation in early-stage venture capital.
0:00 / 0:09exact quote · 9.5s
720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“The feedback loops are very long. You're not going to know how you're doing for at least five years, and you're not going to have someone who's there on a regular basis saying what a great job you're doing”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from John Fein
Fein: Pre-seed funding will never be eradicated for non-traditional founders
“I don't think so. I think there's always going to be a place for pre-seed, especially for those founders, maybe first-time founders, maybe founders that are not found in the typical places. I think there is always going to be a place for very early stage round…”
Fein: EQ will separate top VC firms over the next decade
“Totally agree. You know, I think there's a lot to be said for not pretending that you have it all figured out where as an investor, you know your strengths, you know your weaknesses, you know how to say, I don't know, but we're going to get you the answer.”
Fein: Force decisions on fence-sitting LPs because they usually decline
“If they're perpetually on the fence, it's probably going to be a no anyway. And so I would rather just Force the answer.”
Fein: The tech boom and inflated startup valuations will inevitably drop
“That trend is not going to last forever. This boom economy is not going to last forever. Everything's cyclical. I've worked through two recessions so far, and you know, it's going to come back down.”