I read a post from Dave Hornik on Venture Blog which I mulled over for a while in regards to what David wrote. Funny thing is it just dawned on me yesterday that in about a month I will have been directly involved with venture capital exactly 10 years myself. I started interacting with the venture industry back in 1998 when still with Davis Polk & Wardwell but I didn't actually become a VC on paper until August of 2000. Now that was great timing, wasn't it?
This surely isn't my acceptance speech for some award where I want to thank everyone and their grandmother for supporting me. Granted, lots of people helped me out immensely in the past ten years and everyone I've worked together with in some way imparted knowledge which I am truly grateful for. Some more than others and for those people who definitely know who they are, I am forever indebted. Yet, I am just getting started and this whacked me upside the head a couple times over the past months. In a very weird way, things have been coming together. I've been sitting in meetings, dealing with both positive and some very negative situations. I was surprisingly comfortable giving my feedback as to what I would do. I've also had the benefit of working alongside someone still fairly new to the venture industry. Watching them learn has reminded me over and over of my early days in the business....yes, back when I thought I knew it all. I was louder then. Somewhat aggressive at times, probably to cover up my lack of knowledge. I've become significantly calmer over the years (well, somewhat I guess). I say a lot less and have learned to listen. I know that there's a lot of ups and downs (actually a lot more "downs") before you hit it big. You have to be patient and resilient. It goes with the territory.
Think what you will of Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers. I couldn't agree more with his idea of needing to invest 10,000 hours or 10 years to get good at something, especially when it comes to venture capital. I feel like I am just getting started. I don't mean in terms of the job but in terms of actually getting good at this. My returns will ultimately determine in hindsight whether I'm truly good for my investors but I can say with confidence that I finally feel like I've seen and experienced enough as a VC to feel confident that I know what I am doing. I've been having a blast to be honest! Sure there a rough days but there is a feeling of "being in the groove". This is what it's about when people talk about flow I guess. Call it what you will. It's fun!
So now what? Well, the first 10 years couldn't have been better timing-wise. I rode down the whole VC cycle from 2000 to it's doldrums in 2001 and 2002. It was great to be involved in hindsight in all the restructuring and downsizing that took place. It was hard but you couldn't of jumped into any deeper end when it comes to experience. I was also forced to network like crazy to get to know as many people as possible since we only co-invested then. It worked surprisingly well since people always had time to talk to someone from SAP. They were probably praying silently I'd lead to a further investment or acquisition via my position at SAP Ventures. This role opened so many doors and allowed me to learn further. So, I guess in summary, the next ten years will hopefully be even better than the last 10. I couldn't feel more confident than right now that they will be.
I'll end this post with some words from David regarding venture capital which will surely remain in the back of my mind:
I used to say "it's a great job if you can get it." Now I joke "it's a great job if you can keep it." I plan on keeping it for many years to come.
" I know that there's a lot of ups and downs (actually a lot more "downs") before you hit it big. You have to be patient and resilient. It goes with the territory. "
- this is actually true, i'm gonna agree on this. :D
Posted by: Nursing top | July 01, 2010 at 03:24 AM