The 3 bad habits VCs can’t afford anymore

And why Europe should learn from the best US guys.

Disclosure: I’ve conducted a thousand meetings with venture capitalists in Europe and thousands of calls with investors worldwide for the past 5 years. There are many good investors in France and Europe, don’t get me wrong. But i’m not here to pin medals ☺

I have heard too many stories and have witnessed too often venture capitalists misbehaving with entrepreneurs, especially and including some of the best ranked in Europe. It’s really sad for the entrepreneurs but mostly for the venture capital industry itself. Probably because (fortunately!) most of the time, it’s unintentional.

The mere fact that a venture capitalist tried to go towards a VC code of conduct is actually pretty alarming. I won’t go through all the details -education and good habits come from a consistent practice. But let’s be specific on three basic facts:

• #ON-TIME > Some investors are late, always or often, and let’s face it, this is unprofessional, especially when the entrepreneurs are coming to you. At A16Z, partners are fined $10 for every min late to a meeting.
• #EMPATHY > Entrepreneurs are on a mission and they deserve respect. The best investors are pretty straight-forward but they also show a lot of empathy while others are almost despising during the meetings, which is incredibly rude.
• #FOLLOW-UP > The dealflow at venture capital firms is pretty huge, from 100 to 1,000 new opportunities per month popping-up. Not replying to unsolicited email is fine I guess, the rules are pretty clear for anyone looking to raise funds. But when you have been introduced to an entrepreneur by someone you trust or have met up with someone, you should absolutely get back to them, whatever the consistency of the answer.

I’ve been surprised in the US by the conciseness among the top venture capitalists, the straightness and the empathy in their answers. They’re full of humility and respect and we should learn from those practices in Europe. Some of them are even sending satisfactory forms after having met with entrepreneurs to make sure they were well received.

Good practices are not only good for the entrepreneurs but also for the investors themselves and the ecosystem. Please consider.

A bon entendeur ☺

Tips: Gmail for to-do, email & calendar(stop using outlook, NSA does not care about your dealflow), aText for templates, Doodle for meetings, Rapportive for people checking and finally Good habits but practice and organisation are actually the best tools.