"It's very important because VC funds are always scoring in their heads: if I’ve invested in 20 or 40 companies, which ones are the home runs that return the portfolio more? Which ones do I want to support because they have a shot? Which ones do I delegate because I don’t want to spend time there? Or who am I going to ghost? They won’t do anything so brutal as saying, “Hey we deprioritized you.” They won’t say that out loud because it feels bad and sounds bad. You never know the startup might figure it out after three or four years and suddenly take off like a rocket ship, and then the VC comes back and says, “Hey, we’ve always been supportive of you and we love you so much.” The founder knows, “Okay, you ghosted me for three years.” That’s the industry norm." - Jeremy Au, Host of BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast" - Jeremy Au
"The key thing is imagine you’re a VC looking at your portfolio and asking, am I going to put my money into supporting companies that are losers? No. My unicorns don’t need much help because they don’t even return my calls now; they’re everywhere and doing fine. My large wins are also doing well and don’t really need me, but maybe I can push them a little more and they become unicorn outcomes. Then the small wins can I push them higher? VCs concentrate their resources in the band of companies they believe can turn into small wins or large wins." - Jeremy Au, Host of BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast" - Jeremy Au
"A very underrated art is portfolio management. Even after deciding where to put the first check, a VC reassesses multiple times and asks, “Do I want to spend more time on this company? Are they on track or off track?” They must allocate time, resources, and attention. If after two years a startup keeps asking for help and the VC decides it won’t make it, the VC can tell the head of recruitment, “Please deprioritize this company. Save your time for companies that can be home runs.” This is a brutal mechanic most founders don’t see: even after investment, partners continue judging them throughout the time frame." - Jeremy Au, Host of BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast" - Jeremy Au
In this episode, Jeremy Au speaks on VC ghosting, portfolio math, and the brutal truth about startup survival.
Keywords: BRAVE, VC Ghosting, Portfolio Math, Brutal Truth About Startup Survival, Singapore, Southeast Asia, VC, Startup, Thought Leadership
