为什么企业家都是差劲的天使投资人
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今天我凄惨地意识到，我永远不会成为一个杰出的天使投资人了。原因很简单：我喜欢我听到的每个点子。 显然这并不是因为我的投资交易流特别出众。按常理说来，我的交易流本应该是胜败参半的。事实上，我和天使投资界的联系并不特别紧密，而且我现在还在努力控制花在天使投资上的时间，将之限制在每周一天。因此按理说，我命中最好交易的比率应该比50%还要低得多。 这也不是因为我不会说“不”。相反我总是这样做。问问我的孩子们就知道了。 我之所以喜欢每个点子，是由于我是个乐观主义者。一般的乐观主义者会把一个半空的杯子说成是半满的，但我并不是一般的乐观主义者，我是极度的乐观主义者。我会坚持另外订购一柜子的杯子，防止水满得装不下。 在过去作为企业家的日子里，这种乐观精神是一个重要的工具。我总是相信我们会成功的。哪怕每个人都说我的点子是荒唐的，哪怕我们几乎已经没有钱了，哪怕所有的指标都乱成一团糟，我仍然相信我总会有办法的。我总是信心十足地相信事情总会解决的。 不过这也正是问题所在。我发现其他每个企业家的点子中也都有这个特点。由于我有足够的经验，我甚至能看出他们的点子在推理上有哪些瑕疵，在执行上有哪些漏洞。不过等我有时间靠在椅子上思索一会儿，我就会说“等等——也许还是有办法的。”然后我会马上在白板上勾勒出一个可行的解决方案，然后我就会和那些企业家们一样高兴。 到目前为止，我幸运得让人难以置信。而且我做的每一笔投资似乎都非常坚实。到目前为止，我还没有被套牢过。其中有几笔投资甚至看起来非常有前景。 或许可以说，由于我的运营企业的经验，因此比起大多数人只是“可行”的点子，我的点子往往要棋高一筹。又或许可以说，我作为企业家的经验，可能会帮我在投资的时候鉴别出和我类似的乐观企业家。 不管怎样，我都不会停止这样做。因为这是件乐趣十足的事。我还能说什么呢？我就是有信心，相信事情总是能解决得很好。 我把我的支票簿放哪了？ 本文作者马克•兰多夫是一位经验丰富的硅谷企业家、高科技公司高管和初创公司顾问。他也是在线电影和电视流媒体服务Netflix的共同创始人，并且担任了该公司首任CEO。 译者：朴成奎
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I came to the sad realization today that I was never going to be a great angel investor. And for a simple reason: I like every idea I hear. Obviously it's not that my deal flow is so spectacular – the law of averages suggests that I should be getting an equal mix of hits and misses. In fact, since I'm not particularly well connected in the angel investing world -- and am still trying to limit the time I spend doing it to a single day a week -- I should be getting a considerably worse share of the best deals. And no, I'm not incapable of saying "No." I do that all the time. Ask my kids. The simple reason I like every idea is that I'm an optimist. Not just a run-of-the-mill optimist who sees the glass as half full; I'm an over-the-top optimist. The guy who insists on ordering a whole case of extra glasses to handle the overflow. In my past life as an entrepreneur, this optimism was a critical tool. I just always believed we would succeed. Even when everyone else said my ideas were ridiculous. Even when we were almost out of money. Even when the metrics were all upside down. I always have confidence that I'll figure something out. I just have that confidence that things are going to work out fine. But that's the problem. I also see that in every other entrepreneur's idea. It's even more pathetic because I have enough experience to clearly see the flaws in their reasoning and the gaps in their execution. But then I have that moment where I lean back on the chair, stair into space for second, and say "wait a minute — you know, there just might be a way here." And pretty soon I'm up at the whiteboard sketching out a possible path to daylight and I'm just as excited as they are. So far I've been incredibly lucky, and every investment that I've made has turned out to actually be pretty solid. No craters yet. And even a couple that look really promising. Perhaps one could make the case that because of my operating experience I actually have a better idea than most what constitutes a "doable" idea. Or that my experience as an entrepreneur somehow helps me recognize a fellow optimist when I see one. Either way, I'm not going to stop doing it. Too much fun. And what can I say? I just have that confidence that things are going to work out fine. Now where did I leave my checkbook? Marc Randolph is a veteran Silicon Valley entrepreneur, high tech executive and startup consultant. Most recently Marc was co-founder of the online movie and television streaming service Netflix, serving as their first CEO. |
