????風險投資的成功不是隨隨便便得來，種子投資更是如此。不管策略是什么，總會有失敗，可能需要不斷調整方向，然后才會有少數投資獲得成功。但是正如Castlight和Ariosa那樣，成功的滋味真的很美妙。

????可以在一家公司的成型期提供幫助；與企業家建立親密而富有成效的關系，并在隨后的融資中提高持股比例。早早為項目提供幫助會讓團隊更愿意與你合作——基本上，你會跟他們變得像一家人一樣。這個月我進行了2012年的種子投資，投資對象是醫療保健IT領域一家低調的公司。我想這些創業家們會告訴你，我們積極參與早期種子投資的良好記錄（按這些CEO們的話說），是他們決定與Venrock合作的最重要因素。我們會盡我們所能，不讓他們失望。

????最后，每家風投公司的目標都是要為有限合伙人創造出色的回報。我們相信，我們在種子投資中設定目標和時限的做法與其他公司不同，從一開始就為被投資公司提供資源（避免了他們采用其他種子模型），增強了打造偉大公司的概率。但這需要創業家和風投家之間的相互信賴有一個跨越式的提升——我們盼望邁出這一步。

????布萊恩·羅伯茨是帕洛阿爾托風投公司Venrock的合伙人，在公司里他主要側重于醫療保健投資。

????譯者：楊智

????Success in venture investing is really hard to come by, and with seed investing?even more so.?No matter what the strategy,?there will be failures and even more pivots before?those few that succeed become great.?That said, as with Castlight and Ariosa, when it works, it is awesome.

????You can assist in a company's formative stage; create close and productive relationships with entrepreneurs; as well as build your ownership over subsequent financings. Early help in the project typically leads the team to want to work with no one else but you – in essence, you have become part of the family. ?This month I made my seed investment for 2012 – a stealth company, also in the healthcare IT space. I think these entrepreneurs would tell you that our track record as active participants in prior seeds, as described by those CEO's, was the over-riding factor in their decision to work with Venrock. We will do our best not to disappoint them.

????In the end, every VC firm's goal is to create great returns for its limited partners. We believe that a targeted, time-intensive approach to seed investing is orthogonal to others' and increases the chance of creating great companies by affording them resources early on that they would not get in other seed models. ?But it requires a leap of faith and trust between entrepreneur and VC – a leap we are eager to take.

????Bryan Roberts is a Palo Alto-based partner with venture capital firm Venrock, where he focuses on healthcare investments.