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 14 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
Ver Ploeg: Over 80% of VC advice to CEOs is useless
“I'm fully aware that the CEO who's been working 60 plus hours a week in a specific sector for several years knows a lot more about that sector than me as a VC board member who, I mean, really can rarely spend more than five hours a week on a specific company a…”
Ver Ploeg: Uber's growth mirrors early Google, justifying its valuation
“You know, I haven't seen their financials, but, you know, I've talked to their investors who have, and, you know, they say things like, you know, it's financials are like the early days of Google, that, you know, it really is growing that Stratospherically, an…”
Ver Ploeg: Data disproves that remote tools democratize startup success
“You know, honestly, I had thought, sort of a hypothesis of mine was that there, we would see increased geographic democratization over the last handful of years, given, you know, better communication, lower friction and overhead in, in engaging remote resource…”
Ver Ploeg: A startup board is not the CEO's boss
“Your board is not your boss, right? It's an, and by the same token, you know, becoming CEO of a young company is not sort of about unfettered open field running either. A board is an amalgamation of people who have a collective interest and have their own sepa…”
Ver Ploeg: Board members should prioritize rational outcomes over emotional support
“By and large, I don't think that's the normal operating role of being sort of the support. I think the, in terms of an efficient business interaction, the role of the board member is a very you know, To be very rational and to be very specific about trying to …”
Ver Ploeg: Silicon Valley angels offer better tech experience than non-tech angels
“I think, you know, you just have a larger fraction of people with money, In the Valley have money from being involved in entrepreneurial ventures. So they have relative experience. Whereas, you know, I grew up in Ohio, like the people who had money there, you …”
Ver Ploeg: Meal delivery startups lack defensibility and will compete to death
“I just don't understand all of these, you know, sort of food meal delivery businesses. They've raised a ton of money and I look at them and I just don't understand where the defensibility comes from their business models and how they're not just going to, you …”
Ver Ploeg: Corporate training fails to prepare founders for board management
“There's nothing in the training of somebody who's, you know, been in corporate America, or, you In, but anywhere in the world, that trains you for dealing with a board of, you know, smart, opinionated people who have some control over your life, but aren't spe…”
Ver Ploeg: 5% of early-stage investments generate 95% of venture returns
“And that's the nature of early stage venture is that five percent of those investments generate 95% of their turns.”
Ver Ploeg: Founders should lower valuations rather than accept full ratchets
“And if you're, you know, you need to agree to a full ratchet to get the valuation that you were looking for then I think either A, you should relax your valuation expectations and, you know get better anti-dilution terms, or not raise that round.”
Ver Ploeg: Rockstar companies should raise heavily in frothy markets
“In a frothy environment like we have now, or at least we had until last week then, you know, there's a lot of cash available. And if you're a rockstar company, you should take it.”
Ver Ploeg: Being in the Bay Area provides irreplaceable VC deal flow
“There are two answers to that. The short and simple one is yes, in a way that you just couldn't get any other place. Because, you know, if I go to my local coffee shop, which I do every morning, I see venture guys in there, right?”