Last night, I went for dinner with Mikhil where we got into the debate on whether VCs should be “founder friendly” or “venture friendly”. He was for the former and I the latter. I argued that at the end of the day, it is the combined responsibility of both the venture capitalist and the founders to ensure that their investors make money.

Then, this morning, Dr Malpani’s post added to that debate:

I believe that at the end of the day all stakeholders i.e. the founders, investors, employees, ESOP holders, customers, suppliers, vendors, etc. will do well only if the venture continues to grow and generate profits. Therefore, the primary dharma of all stakeholders should be to make sure that they do their part in growing the venture. It also means that sometimes investors are required to take actions that put the venture’s interest above that of the founder and therefore get termed as “founder unfriendly”.

Venture capital can be quite a tricky game to play…

12/2019