Thread by @fdestin

Savagely honest @Nicolas_Colin

“In toxic environments such as Paris, traditional venture capital has in fact become a rent-seeking business: you don’t need strong performances to make a reasonable living and enjoy your power over desperate Entrepreneurs.”

2/ This is the source article - a fab deep dive into the history of VC from @Nicolas_Colin that I highly recommend reading.

salon.thefamily.co/a-brief-histor…

3/ Nicolas, in the line with the pirate ethos of @_TheFamily, does not hesitate to break through the veil of silence that protects the more mediocre ecosystem participants

The journeymen of VC who treat it as a relatively glam lifestyle business.

4/ "With a 2% management fee, three managing partners can typically earn a relatively good wage for nine years, all while enjoying a nice office in the 8th arrondissement of Paris plus the occasional fact-finding trip to Silicon Valley or China".

5/ I have witnessed this first hand.

VCs who don't seem to care about the outcome of the companies they back, or only insofar as it reflects on them, and who parade around boards with a sense of self that it is not representative of their actual impact or contribution.

6/ @Nicolas_Colin also correctly identifies the role of the state (@Bpifrance) in both building a vibrant ecosystem but also steering the venture market towards the players who really deserve to get support.

7/ The good news is that the market has already changed dramatically. New funds and initiatives like @kimaventures, @frst_vc @keralavc @_TheFamily @singularvc as well as some of the better established players and amazing angels have helped move this along quite far.

8/ This is why we've made 7 investments in France out of Fund I, including @JowCuisine and @strapijs as we view France as an incredibly exciting market driven by super ambitious founders.