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Andre Burnett resigns as CEO of Muse 360 Integrated | Loop News - just saw this. I have a few thoughts on venture capital in general, having carefully studied Thiel and Facebook etc. If you’ll allow me. loopjamaica.com/content/andre-…
Two features mainly. (1) patient and (2) passive. Patient, entrepreneurs probably have 5-7 years to get it right. Passive because (i) the VC don’t take more than 20% usually and (ii) they are NOT involved in the operations. They may sit on the Board though, which is reasonable
And needed, if you think about it. How can I at 25 really know all there is to run a business, eh? And this is not a knock on anyone in particular, just speaking generally as I usually do 😁.
I think Jamaica needs VC firms and I also believe it should be done right. The failure rate of businesses is high, so stuff like departures etc are part and parcel of the game. That’s why I’ll never understand why people get up in arms over analysis. Your company is public.
Get over it. But we have a ton of growing to do locally and we will get there soon. Some of us look at these overseas markets regularly so it’s a normal existence. VC and Angels are the bridge between startups and SME status, especially those who don’t have wealthy benefactors.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venture_c… for us to thrive though, the stigmas attached to transparency and disclosure must be removed. Businesses will fail, that’s life. Get over it. It’s also important to recall though that if we don’t do the right things (1) & (2), then the issues will persist
Passive and Patient. First issue for me was majority ownership (as per their investment guidelines). Said to a friend - what motivation does the entrepreneur have to persist if he or she effectively work for the VC? Defeats the purpose. Didn’t want to be pouring cold water so
kept my mouth shut. Operational involvement seemed appropriate so I can’t speak to that. But 75% unreal. So what would that mean for Rounds 2 onwards? Oh that’s the other thing, if the VC takes the whole stake early then there’s no room for new fund raises and then from whence
will scale come? Every funding round should involve a bonus to the Company CEO (not VC, they should already be wealthy) for a successful raise. It may not be palatable in our former socialist country, but you have to motivate these guys to continue building the business. Facts.
So the mistake IMO was majority stake and control being bought out. Completely contrary to how a VC should operate. I believe I’ve said that before and this is NOT a post-mortem. Wishing all well. The sun rises tomorrow.
Let me add, without prompting, the DBJ has done a tremendous amount of work on developing the VC ecosystem and should be commended for bringing us as far as we have come. Jamaica was not at this point 10 years ago and we should be grateful. How we build on it another debate. I
have ideas and stories but would rather continue under the quiet as that’s just a personal preference. With the speed with which a new business can be registered and developed, however, business owners should pick the sense out of the nonsense I have chosen to share.
