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#3 is insane, if for no other reason than the VC is signaling that he’s likely going to try and do the same thing to you some day… even if you were totally will

#3 is insane, if for no other reason than the VC is signaling that he’s likely going to try and do the same thing to you some day… even if you were totally willing to screw over your team, why would you ever get involved with that VC given you’ll then have to watch your back until the end of time?

deleted 3mo ago
[deleted]
cryzinger 3mo ago
I think a lot of people fail to recognize that they're the next target, or convince themselves they're special in some way that makes them immune. It's like when someone knowingly participates in an affair and tells themselves "Sure, they're cheating on their current partner to be with me, but after they break things off I know we'll be together forever!"
- raverbashing 3mo ago
  Yup, exactly this For example, if you go off with the cheating partner, don't expect it to not happen again
- CPLX 3mo ago
  Some people really do thrive on this shit though. They know the rules of the game and want to play it. What they’re really thinking is they’ll be better at the game than their opponents. I mean can you actually imagine the internal monologue of a guy like Sam Altman?
  - bombcar 3mo ago
    LLMs have more of an internal monologue, and they have none.
    - DANmode 3mo ago
      Not exactly true: https://www.anthropic.com/research/tracing-thoughts-language-model https://www.anthropic.com/research/tracing-thoughts-language... They’re even trying to expose some of it as a summary, as part of the anthropomorphization of Claude.
darth_avocado 3mo ago
Because rich and powerful people also have massive egos to go with their power and money. Some of them will find your rejection a personal attack and try to actively sabotage you. Not all VCs are like that, but there are enough of them that you need to be careful about how you handle the situation.
- Bob459105 3mo ago
  [dead]
toxic 3mo ago
Because if you get involved with most VCs, you will then have to watch your back until the end of time. None of those "worst experiences" seem all that unusual to me (though nobody will say #1 out loud anymore until after they've invested), and #3 is completely in character for Vinod.
- sunjieming 3mo ago
  Yeah, this is par for the course with VC. You should never believe your VC (even post funding) is your friend. They can be a great business partner and resource but they're never your friend under that dynamic
  - htrp 3mo ago
    there is a saying about mixing business with pleasure
- root-parent 3mo ago
  If one partner is the core of the company, and the others the VC thinks are useless ( I am not saying in this case they were...just that the VC might have that perception) what should the VC do? After all its just business decisions like Cloudflare recent layoffs no? https://blog.cloudflare.com/building-for-the-future/ https://blog.cloudflare.com/building-for-the-future/
  - stackghost 3mo ago
    If they truly are useless that's one thing, but the ability to "impress" some asshole in a 30 minute pitch has little to do with running a successful tech company. With what authority are VCs claiming to be capable of being an accurate judge of talent or character in less than an hour? Sounds like said VC in your example is doing insufficient due diligence and just investing based on vibes.
    - segmondy 3mo ago
      something pattern something matching something
tehwebguy 3mo ago
omfg that’s the beach access guy
- foobarbecue 3mo ago
  ugh. That douchebag doesn't even surf.
wheels 3mo ago
I had the same thing happen (though seed round). I don't think it's uncommon. Also never took another meeting with the guy.
wslh 3mo ago
Sadly, I've experienced this myself, and I'm aware of other people who were cut off from opportunities in similar ways. I applaud the tweet because this is important to say out loud: we are often not living in the world we think we are observing. Many people know this, but few talk about it. It's an open secret.
TrackerFF 3mo ago
My pet theory is that it is more nurture than nature. These (VC) veterans have seen thousands of startups come and go, and become so desensitized to the ruthlessness. Of course to people like the author, it seems borderline sociopathic to casually suggest such levels of betrayal. It is like trying to get into the most exclusive nightclubs, and when you're finally in the front, the bouncer will look at the group and say "You can get in, but not those two". It sucks, but to the bouncer it is just business as usual, and you're just another face.
- lovich 3mo ago
  Nah, he was talking about taking their stock. That’s morally theft even if by some convoluted reason it’s not legally theft. I get the business as usual analogy but the specifics of the interaction are different. You just showing up to your club with your friends is different than having equity in a company you cofounded.
timdorr 3mo ago
Vinod is insane. You can hear more of his really bad takes on his recent Sam Harris podcast episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/479-when-robots-take-over https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/479...

deleted 3mo ago

[deleted]

cryzinger 3mo ago

I think a lot of people fail to recognize that they're the next target, or convince themselves they're special in some way that makes them immune. It's like when someone knowingly participates in an affair and tells themselves "Sure, they're cheating on their current partner to be with me, but after they break things off I know we'll be together forever!"

raverbashing 3mo ago
Yup, exactly this For example, if you go off with the cheating partner, don't expect it to not happen again
CPLX 3mo ago
Some people really do thrive on this shit though. They know the rules of the game and want to play it. What they’re really thinking is they’ll be better at the game than their opponents. I mean can you actually imagine the internal monologue of a guy like Sam Altman?
- bombcar 3mo ago
  LLMs have more of an internal monologue, and they have none.
  - DANmode 3mo ago
    Not exactly true: https://www.anthropic.com/research/tracing-thoughts-language-model https://www.anthropic.com/research/tracing-thoughts-language... They’re even trying to expose some of it as a summary, as part of the anthropomorphization of Claude.

darth_avocado 3mo ago

Because rich and powerful people also have massive egos to go with their power and money. Some of them will find your rejection a personal attack and try to actively sabotage you. Not all VCs are like that, but there are enough of them that you need to be careful about how you handle the situation.

Bob459105 3mo ago
[dead]

toxic 3mo ago

Because if you get involved with most VCs, you will then have to watch your back until the end of time. None of those "worst experiences" seem all that unusual to me (though nobody will say #1 out loud anymore until after they've invested), and #3 is completely in character for Vinod.

sunjieming 3mo ago
Yeah, this is par for the course with VC. You should never believe your VC (even post funding) is your friend. They can be a great business partner and resource but they're never your friend under that dynamic
- htrp 3mo ago
  there is a saying about mixing business with pleasure
root-parent 3mo ago
If one partner is the core of the company, and the others the VC thinks are useless ( I am not saying in this case they were...just that the VC might have that perception) what should the VC do? After all its just business decisions like Cloudflare recent layoffs no? https://blog.cloudflare.com/building-for-the-future/ https://blog.cloudflare.com/building-for-the-future/
- stackghost 3mo ago
  If they truly are useless that's one thing, but the ability to "impress" some asshole in a 30 minute pitch has little to do with running a successful tech company. With what authority are VCs claiming to be capable of being an accurate judge of talent or character in less than an hour? Sounds like said VC in your example is doing insufficient due diligence and just investing based on vibes.
  - segmondy 3mo ago
    something pattern something matching something

tehwebguy 3mo ago

omfg that’s the beach access guy

foobarbecue 3mo ago
ugh. That douchebag doesn't even surf.

wheels 3mo ago

I had the same thing happen (though seed round). I don't think it's uncommon. Also never took another meeting with the guy.

wslh 3mo ago

Sadly, I've experienced this myself, and I'm aware of other people who were cut off from opportunities in similar ways. I applaud the tweet because this is important to say out loud: we are often not living in the world we think we are observing. Many people know this, but few talk about it. It's an open secret.

TrackerFF 3mo ago

My pet theory is that it is more nurture than nature. These (VC) veterans have seen thousands of startups come and go, and become so desensitized to the ruthlessness. Of course to people like the author, it seems borderline sociopathic to casually suggest such levels of betrayal. It is like trying to get into the most exclusive nightclubs, and when you're finally in the front, the bouncer will look at the group and say "You can get in, but not those two". It sucks, but to the bouncer it is just business as usual, and you're just another face.

lovich 3mo ago
Nah, he was talking about taking their stock. That’s morally theft even if by some convoluted reason it’s not legally theft. I get the business as usual analogy but the specifics of the interaction are different. You just showing up to your club with your friends is different than having equity in a company you cofounded.

timdorr 3mo ago

Vinod is insane. You can hear more of his really bad takes on his recent Sam Harris podcast episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/479-when-robots-take-over https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/479...