After your car breaks down, you take it to a mechanic who's spent years under the hood. When you build a home, you choose an architect who's constructed entire subdivisions. But what about when it comes to venture capital? When you hand a VC money to invest, don't you want him to have been in the business for decades?
Surprisingly, no. In fact, when the Kauffman Foundation analyzed its own venture portfolio in 2012, its 2006-2010 vintage funds — its newest class — performed better than the 2001-2005 or 1996-2000 vintages. Over 38% of its youngest funds beat public markets by 3% or more, compared to just 9.5% of the 2001-2005 crop and 16.6% of the 1996-2000 group.
