Why did you become a VC?

To:

• have fun (in a business context);
• from a model perspective, try to do what I did as a founder, just better next time, with better founders than me;
• go on some terrific journeys, without having to do all the work myself this time;
• have some chance of making real money if I totally killed it;
• and to do it “better”, with less ego, less drama, no control, no Sony Baloney.  To do it the right way, with a smidge less greed, a lot less high-and-mighty, and a bit more zen.

Those are decent reasons to be a VC, but you need to understand it’s a 16-17 year commitment (10-year fund life x 3 funds, staggered 3 years apart).

24 months in, I think I’ve had pretty epic results.  I believe my first cohort of investments will do at least 10x, which isn’t as hard as an angel, but is darn hard as a VC, because you have to invest a lot more, and follow-on at higher prices.

But …

It’s a lot more than this.  It’s #1 a money management job.  And 17 years is a pretty serious commitment.

Sourcing, leading, and closing A+ investments is just 1/3rd or so of it, it turns out.