????眼下，大眾籌資風頭正勁。不過，即使最近獲得美國證券交易委員會（SEC）認可的那種大眾籌資方式也存在執行上的風險。作為一種金融生態系統，大眾籌資剛剛起步，但一些參與者已經開始向風險投資叫板，認為后者應該“使出更厲害的招數”。原因是，對現有公司和風投模式本身來說，其他融資途徑已經帶來了威脅和競爭。我認為在大眾籌資和風險投資之間進行比較并不恰當，主要理由有幾條，其中多數都和一個問題有關，那就是和公司創始人合作的風投伙伴到底是優秀還是糟糕。

????在創始人看來，風投總是有好有壞，大眾籌資的出現不太可能對此產生影響。不過，我還是在下文中比較了大眾籌資和風險投資的異同（前提是，假定風投質量較高，能夠真正和管理層實現合作）。

????請注意，我的目的不是專門探討大眾籌資能否在公司起步階段很好地把握住投資機遇。但我要說，倘若某人的投資主題基本上都建立在人云亦云的基礎上，那我就不會對相關資產抱很高的期望。

1. 監督和協助水平

????? 風險投資：高

????? 大眾籌資：低

????對年紀較輕的首次創業者來說，我相信資金不可或缺，而和一家大公司的一位大人物合作則價值非凡。不論是作為創業者，作為天使投資人，還是到最后作為風險投資人，我都曾經親眼見證過這一點。有些創業者欠缺經驗，但充滿夢想 “有奶便是娘”對他們來說并不是特別好的建議，無論這句話出自何人之口。我認為這樣的說法更多地只會讓人感到自負，想逞能，對于打造一家能持久運轉、長期盈利的企業而言并不是最好的建議。

????反對者會說：“噢，你說的不就是你書里的內容嘛。”對此我的回答是，找到一個考慮周全的論點后再來找我，別老是說這一套。我還知道，許多創業者在融資財團內外找了大量顧問，但我認為這種顧問關系不能取代風投操作人和創業者之間的關系，原因是風投操作人和創業者在利益和風險方面高度一致。

2. 穩定性

????? 風險投資：高

????? 大眾籌資：低

????就我的親身體驗而言，大多數萌芽期企業在建立之后都還沒有“自立，找到正確的”發展方向。它們都需要一段時間來完成產品與市場的磨合；更重要的是，它們需要時間來找到一種可擴展、可復制的產品銷售方法。這段時間總是比預期的要長，會帶來額外的資金需求，而且數額往往還會超過初創型企業持有的資金。

????因此，在純粹的天使投資環境（也包括大眾籌資環境，即表面上沒有任何措施來承擔彌補資金缺口的責任并提供相應資源）中，經常出現的情況要么是耗費時間，要么是在達到A輪投資指標前無法滿足這樣的額外資金需求。此時，一位支持型風投伙伴能幫助創業團隊把注意力集中在執行方面。途徑是注入足夠的資金，以便后者在運營方面實現里程碑式發展，從而達到A輪投資者的期望——當然，這只是支持型風投伙伴幫助創業團隊的方法之一。同時，這樣的協助一般都能相當迅速而輕松地完成，但必須在信任和支持的氛圍下進行。創業者和風投伙伴都要認為這樣的過渡性投資既公平又周到，這一點很重要。強有力的風投伙伴每天都會這樣做，而且已經成為他們日常生活的一部分。

????Crowdfunding is all the rage. Even the SEC recently blessed one type of crowdfunding for which there was risk of an enforcement action. Several in the early-stage ecosystem have called for venture capitalists to "up their game," as alternative paths to financing create competitive threats to both incumbent firms and the venture model itself. I think drawing parallels between crowdfunding and VC investment is inappropriate -- conflating several important factors, most of which have to do with whether a founder is dealing with a good VC partner or a lousy VC partner.

????There will always be good VCs and bad VCs from a founder perspective, and the presence of crowdfunding is unlikely to impact this phenomenon. That said, here is the compare/contrast as I see it between crowdfunding and VC funding (assuming one is dealing with a quality VC who acts as a true partner with management).

????Please note that I am not looking to specifically address of whether crowdfunding may or may not be a good vehicle for accessing early-stage investment opportunities. I will say, however, that if one's investment thesis generally revolves around the notion of "social proof" than I don't hold high hopes for this corner of the asset class.

1. Mentoring and assistance

????? VC: High

????? Crowdfunding: Low

????With younger first-time founders, I believe money is not fungible and that there is significant value to partnering with a great individual at a great firm. I have personally witnessed this as a founder, as an angel and most recently as a VC. Whoever says that "all money is green" isn't giving the inexperienced yet visionary founder very good advice. I believe this talk is a function more of ego and bravado than really trying to give a founder the best advice for building a sustainable, long term, profitable business.

????Cynics will say "Oh, you're just talking your book." My response: Come back with a thoughtful argument and save the platitudes. I also acknowledge that many founders successfully build a suite of mentors and advisors both inside and outside of their funding syndicates, but I don't see these relationships as a replacement for a VC operator that has interests and exposures closely aligned with those of the founders.

2. Stability

????? VC: High

????? Crowdfunding: Low

????Most seed stage businesses with which I've been involved have not been "up and to the right" propositions from the get-go. It has taken a bunch of time -- invariably more time than expected -- to achieve product/market fit and, more importantly, to figure out a scalable and replicable way to sell the product. And with this extra time comes extra financing requirements, often more than the start-up has on hand.

????Because of this, in purely angel-funded situations (and, by extension, crowdfunded situations where there is no ostensible deal lead with the responsibility and resources to bridge the gap), it frequently is either time consuming or impossible to secure this incremental capital prior to Series A-type metrics being hit. This is only one of the ways where a supportive VC partner can help keep the team focused on execution by injecting enough capital to hit the key operating milestones Series A investors are looking for. And this can generally be done quite quickly and painlessly, but has to be done in an environment of trust and support. It is important that both founders and the VC feel a bridge investment was done fairly and thoughtfully, but this is something that strong VC partners do every day. It's part of life.