風險投資人迎合創業者虛榮心漸成風氣
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????比如，像這樣：“是的，我知道其他人帶來的投資意向書更出色一點。但除了價格好一點，他們能給你帶來什么？我們不只是看好你的公司，我們也看好你本人。我們甚至還有相關的專家，他們知道怎么宣傳你的商業點子，確保人們聊起【移動/內容/軟件即時服務（SaaS）/分析/無人機送餐服務】時，馬上就會說起你。我們能讓你變成一個明星，吸引最好的人才和客戶紛至沓來。今天的估值差異比起未來我們要一起做的事情不值一提。” ????好吧，也許不會說得這么直白，但想來也差不太多。 ????而且，老實說，我覺得這么干能成。創業者往往都自視甚高，這幾乎是一種本性。畢竟，他們能放棄傳統就業職位，就是因為他們對自己的能力有持久的信心。如果出價相差不多，有效的第二條途徑就是如何提升創業者的自我價值感。 ????但是，我不知道實際的“內容”策略能否真的給企業帶來那么大的幫助。畢竟，人們加入一家初創企業往往并不是因為他們認同CEO的想法或者CEO名聲響亮。首先還是金錢/股票方案，其次是潛在雇員認為能在這里愉快工作，受到激勵。這里頭可能包括CEO的言行舉止或遠見，但不是他們在知名科技博客TechCrunch上寫了些什么。甜心先生(Jerry Maguire)不是真實生活。 ????對于潛在客戶就更是如此了，他們關心的是產品好不好用，價格是多少。僅此而已。或許有個別例外，比如，2012年連鎖快餐廳Chick-fil-A因為公開反對同性婚姻在美國社會引起軒然大波后，仍有大量的消費者進店吃炸雞表示聲援。但是，我并不認為風投公司會鼓勵大部分創業者發表一些極具爭議性的社會政策言論。 ????當然，如果越來越多的風投公司開始聘請內容主管，這種迎合虛榮心的差異化將會消失。到那時，所有公司都已經為這些曾經的媒體老兵準備好了一個歸宿。或者說，在投資者們指示這些公司開人之前，他們可以一直好好待著。 ????不過，也許我這回又猜錯了？（財富中文網） |
????It goes like this: "Yes, I know those other guys are coming in with a slightly better term sheet. But what are they bringing you besides a bit less dilution? We don't only believe in your business, but we believe in you. And we've even got someone here who knows how to get your ideas out there, and make sure that when people talk about [mobile/content/SaaS/analytics/tacocopters] they'll be talking about you. We'll make you a star, and the best people and customers will flock to your business. That difference in valuation today will be just a drop in the bucket compared to what we'll do together." ????Okay, maybe it's not quite so explicit, but that's the general conceit. ????And, to be honest, I think it just may work. Entrepreneurs generally think quite highly of themselves almost by definition. After all, they have forgone traditional employment due to an abiding faith in their own abilities. If the money is close, this a strong secondary way to bolster the entrepreneur's sense of self worth. ????What I don't know, however, is if the actual "content" strategies will really help businesses all that much. After all, people don't generally join a startup because they like how the CEO thinks, or because the CEO is well known. It's first about the money/equity package, and then about if the prospective employee expects to enjoy and be stimulated by the work environment. That may include a CEO's demeanor or vision, but not something they wrote on TechCrunch. Jerry Maguire isn't real life. ????And this goes double for potential customers, who care that the product works and how much it costs. That's it. Maybe there are isolated exceptions like all those folks who did/didn't go to Chick-fil-A last year, but I don't imagine that most of these entrepreneurs will be encouraged to make controversial social policy statements. ????Of course, if more and more VC firms begin hiring head of content, then the ego-stroking differentiation will be lost. And all the firms will have created at that point is a lucrative landing spot for ex-journalists. Well, until their investors tell them to send out pink slips. ????Or am I wrong once again? |
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