The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 15 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 0 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Oetting: Deal-By-Deal Carry Is Poisonous To Internal VC Fund Culture
“Most venture funds are set up to be highly internally competitive, which I think is crazy in a market that's as externally competitive as venture. So things like deal by deal carry, things like giving credit based off sourcing deals or serving on a board, thes…”
Oetting: 8VC eliminated deal-by-deal carry and individual deal rewards
“So ABC, we've done away with all that. We've incentivized collaboration. So there's no concept of this is my deal or your deal. I might have responsibility for certain aspects of it because of course there needs to be Delegation. But there's no concept of rewa…”
Oetting: Functional AI Requires Vertical Enterprise Data Structures First
“In order for functional AI to exist in applications, especially in the business world, we need there to be data in software systems, which means we need enterprise software with highly complex and vertically focused data structures before AI can have very much…”
Oetting: Systemic US Racism Lies in the Court System, Ignored by Media
“On the left, there's very little talk in the mainstream media about the fact that the real prejudice and racism, in my opinion, that exists in the United States exist in the court system, not necessarily as much in other parts of the world.”
Oetting: Venture Capital and Private Equity Are Identical Businesses
“Venture capital is so distinct, at least culturally and, you know, in the media from private equity, because fundamentally they are very similar and really they're identical businesses done at different scale and at different times in a company's life cycle.”
Oetting: Private Equity Is More Operationally Focused Than Venture Capital
“Private equity actually has been incredibly entrepreneurial for a long period of time and really actually much more operationally focused than venture capital.”
Oetting: Board Members Violate Fiduciary Duties By Prioritizing Founders
“As an investor, you are legally, if you're on a board, you are legally responsible for being company friendly. You are violating your obligations if you are founder friendly or if you are investor friendly. You're supposed to be company friendly to all stakeho…”
Oetting: VCs will shift from founder-friendly to company-friendly as companies stay private longer
“But as companies stay private longer and longer, I think that that's going to change. I think what you're going to see is investors become more company friendly. And what that manifests itself in is looking at all shareholders, not just the founders.”
Oetting: Standard VC fund structures barely fit modern startup exit timelines
“I think they are, but just barely. And I'm not sure that on the sort of for the best companies, they will be set up.”
Oetting: Proprietary deal flow genuinely exists at Seed and Series A
“At the C and Series A, and even sometimes Series B, these companies may not even have been written about in TechCrunch. They don't even know who they are. So I very strongly believe in proprietary deal flow at the earlier stages of the stack.”
Oetting: Deep focus early in a career generates exponential returns over preserving optionality
“The reality is doubling into something you, especially early on in career, you get exponential return to your time. So focusing on one thing, you're going to get an exponential return on that.”
Oetting: VCs Are Too Obsessed With Technology Over Business Fundamentals
“Venture capitalists have become a little bit too obsessed with the technology itself versus the way the technology accomplishes creating a highly compelling business.”
Oetting: Business Growth Creates Value Only With Operating Leverage
“Growth creates value when there's an argument or there is evidence of operating leverage, because then it creates more profitability.”
Oetting: Young VCs Have An Advantage Because Incumbents Aren't Threatened
“The real benefit of being young, and I'm sure that you've experienced this, is that people are really willing to help you. Partially, that's because they probably don't see you as that competitive. And so they don't see you as threatening, which is probably tr…”