One of my favorite recent blog posts is Seth Godin’s “Getting funded is not the same as succeeding.” Whether or not we’re in a bubble, it’s a sign of the times that this post has to be written in the first place. As Josh Elman tweets, we’ve gone from RIP Good Times to funding a grilled cheese company in less than three years (Sequoia was involved in both interestingly). Instead of focusing on the companies that are creating the most value for their customers, we’re talking about who raised the largest round or who’s part of the billion dollar valuation club.
And this is dangerous. It’s dangerous because we’re celebrating the “success” of fund raisings rather than the success of building truly valuable businesses. Fundraising success does not always predict long-term success, and the data shows it. Below are the largest technology venture fundraisings from 2004 to 2008 according to VentureSource (Note: I purposely excluded data from the current bubble and from cleantech, which I imagine only further supports the point).
To read the full, original article click on this link: Raising The Most Money Doesn’t Mean Your Company Will Become The Most Valuable
Author:Jules Maltz
