????問：你曾說過自己不會為“令人討厭的人”投資。你如何確定什么樣的人是“令人討厭的”？

????確實如此，但很大程度上，“令人討厭”是一個主觀概念，因此這種觀念其實很危險。但在經歷了人生的風風雨雨之后，我和我的合伙人得出結論：人生太短暫，不應該在那些令人討厭的、無禮的甚至粗魯的人身上浪費時間。我們希望與那些我們愿意與之共處的人合作。

????為此，我們采用了人們在面試或招聘時使用的技巧。我們會問一些問題進行試探，盡量獲得他們對專業問題和情景化問題的反應。我們還會觀察當我們不在房間里或在聽力范圍之外時，創始人有何表現。對其他人（不論是誰）很粗魯或不屑一顧的人，會被我們淘汰。

????問：但有些“令人討厭的人”確實建立了成功的公司，不是嗎？

????確實有一種理論認為，“令人討厭的人”或“混蛋”可以成為最成功的創始人和CEO。或許我有些理想主義，過于天真，我認為雖然這些人取得了成功，但如果他們沒有這么令人討厭，或許會更加成功。

????我的看法非常簡單：一個不令人反感的人，在招聘和吸引優秀的團隊成員方面可以做得更成功。而從理論上來說，這些小的成功有助于建立一家更有價值的公司。

????問：作為投資者，你目前對哪些行業最感興趣？

????目前，我最感興趣的有三個領域：金融技術（為金融公司提供技術的公司）、網絡/信息安全和健康科技/醫療科技。并且我真心認為，倫敦/英國的初創公司在這些領域占有優勢。

????倫敦一直是世界金融中心。英國有政府通信總部（GCHQ）和其他情報機構以及頂尖的大學，在網絡/信息安全與情報領域有悠久的歷史和深厚的專業知識，此外，盡管人們對英國的國民衛生服務體系褒貶不一，但作為一個集中的“平臺”，它可以更有效地利用或開發健康/醫療科技。

????問：你是否在資助女性創業者方面做過特殊的努力？

????我一直在積極尋找有實力的創業者——不會去考慮性別或其他人口特征。由于眾所周知的原因，我對女性創業者尤其感興趣。因此，如果有女同胞愿意與我聯系、尋求反饋或者兜售她們的創業理念，我都會盡量提供機會。最近這幾年，我發現女性創業者越來越多，希望這種趨勢能夠繼續下去。（財富中文網）

????本文作者唐納?芬恩撰寫創業類文章已超過三十年。她是兩本書的作者：《阿爾法狗：異軍突起的行業領袖》（Alpha Dogs: How Your Small Business Can Become a Leader of the Pack）和《毛頭小子創業暴發：美國青少年創業領袖實操筆記》（Upstarts: How GenY Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business）。她還是《公司雜志》(Inc. Magazine)的特約編輯。

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

????審校：任文科

????Q: You’ve said that you’d rather not invest in “jerks.” How do you determine jerkiness?

????It’s true and therefore dangerous that “jerk” is largely subjective. However, my partners and I are all at points in our lives where we’ve the luxury to decide that life’s just too short to work with people who we find objectionable, offensive or even plainly rude. We want to work with people with whom we enjoy spending time.

????To discern this, we’ll employ techniques that anyone uses when they’re trying to interview/recruit candidates to hire. We’ll ask questions to probe and try to get a reaction about professional and situational matters. We’re also paying attention to how founders behave even when we’re not in the room or out of earshot. So if they’re rude or dismissive of other people (no matter who they are), that’s pretty much a non-starter.

????Q: But don’t some jerks build successful companies?

????There is indeed a theory that jerks or assholes make the most successful founders/CEOs. It might be idealistic and naive of me, but I’d like to think that as successful as those types of individuals have been, perhaps they could have been even more successful had they not been jerks.

????I very simplistically believe that one can be more successful at hiring and attracting great team members, partners and customers if they’re not off-putting, offensive or objectionable. Those small successes in theory contribute to building a more valuable business.

????Q: As an investor, which industries currently excite you the most?

????At the moment, I’m really excited about three specific sectors: fintech [companies that build technology for financial firms], cyber/infosecurity and healthtech/medtech. Conveniently, I also genuinely believe that startups in London/UK have an advantage in these specific sectors.

????London has always been one of the financial capitals of the world. Similarly, the UK has a long-standing heritage and deep expertise in cyber/infosecurity and intelligence with GCHQ and other intelligence agencies and strong universities, and finally for all its good and bad aspects, the UK also has the NHS [National Health Service] as a centralized “platform” to leverage or make more efficient.

????Q: Are you making a special effort to fund women entrepreneurs?

????I actively seek out strong entrepreneurs — regardless of gender or demographic. For obvious reasons, I take a great interest in women entrepreneurs in particular. Therefore I try to make myself available to anyone who is interested in connecting, getting feedback — or pitching. Over the years I’ve seen more women entrepreneurs emerging and I look forward to this trend continuing.

????Donna Fenn has been writing about entrepreneurship for more than thirty years. She is the author of two books: Alpha Dogs: How Your Small Business Can Become a Leader of the Pack; and Upstarts: How GenY Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business, and a contributing editor at Inc. Magazine.