Blood in the water

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Wind downs happen and there have been lots lately in venture capital backed companies. When there is blood in the water, you can take advantage of the situation, take jabs, take customers, hire the best talent from those now shuttered firms, you can show sympathy and send kind messages about the tough situation or you can sit quietly and watch others and how they react.

I spent years in the hedge fund space, so I have seen a lot of blood in the water in different scenarios and a lot of people take the approach of pillaging what's left while also giving their opinion on why the other people failed. I think some people are wired to take the opportunities when they see them. They are competitive, ferocious and will stop at nothing to win. Others want to be friendly with everyone. Have no enemies and try to help those that fail find what's next. Then there are those that sit quietly. They watch. They study others moves and they move quietly. Focusing more on their own execution, but also keeping receipts about those that have slighted them in the past.

I'm more a fan of the sit quietly approach, but I appreciate the other approaches. Everyone has their own way of dealing with events. We are likely to see more failures in the coming months, more down rounds, more pay to plays, and more founders walk away. With that more drama and fireworks- on social media, in newsletters, in the media, and behind close doors. It'll be intriguing to watch and to see who ultimately are the winning companies over the next few years.

“Like Morning Brew (but for venture capital)”

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