Way to go, Alok! The Venture Capital Differentiators A few years ago, I came across this interview with Alok Mittal on the internet. Alok is the Managing Director at Canaan Partners, one of the leading VCs in the technology and healthcare businesses, the world over. And in that interview, Alok was talking about their investment…
Everyone’s aware of the herd mentality. Be it iPods, bigger and bigger cars, or even a Twitter account.
I’ve noticed similar mentalities in the VC industry. Why do we seek the safety of the herd?
Here are a few examples of it, and also the effects of the same on industries.
Dare to Venture? “The best things in life are free, But you can keep ’em for the birds and bees; Now give me money, (that’s what I want) that’s what I want.” – Barrett Strong Lets see. First time entrepreneur? Maybe you’ve already taken the brave leap, but suddenly hit a roadblock for lack of…
you are driving one morning to work. nice weather, relatively low traffic. ‘i’m finally going to reach well before time’, you think to yourself. just at that moment, a speeding cab whizzes to your left, suddenly cuts you without a signal or warning. you snarl, and then immediately think that it feels like a really great day, full of positives, so you wouldnt want to ruin it by getting into a foul mood over a crazy driver. you near a signal, nearing a car in the next lane, who appears to be somehow drifting towards your lane. you honk lightly. you think he’s getting back into his lane but just as you’re real close to his car, he honks back and swerves in your direction. your brakes screech the car to a halt, and your still wondering if that actually happened.
Grrrr..!! that does it. that driver’s going down, you tell yourself, as you floor the accelerator and veer into the last lane and align yourself in perfect striking position.
Nobody panics when things go “according to plan.” Even if the plan is horrifying! Look at what’s happened in India over the past two decades. We’ve had bomb blasts ripping through cities, over and over again.
The news channels have ‘field days’. Give it a few days, and everyone has put the incident into some low priority folder in their heads, and gone about with their routine like it never happened.
Now while resilience is a good thing, everyone’s missing the bigger point. Why can’t the security forces, the police, the intelligence agencies, and even the common man become more responsible.
Ever been late to get somewhere, and you got stuck behind a car driven by an old woman or man, or maybe even a learner who’s instructor managed to pick the same road on the same day when you were late and crossing it. Or even the one who’s so busy chatting with their co-passenger, that driving becomes almost an external, disconnected event for them.