Why I still like Fred
Fred Wilson turned me down. He was the first venture firm we met with in early 2006 and he turned me down. Right away. It was a little hard to take honestly.
I’ve pitched a lot of investors in the past for other companies. I know how to take “no” for an answer. Or so I thought. But the truth is, not many investors say no…they just hem and haw until you go away.
But not Fred. He said no. And he told me why. We didn’t have our marketing together. He couldn’t see how we were going to reach the people we wanted to sell to.
It’s hard to have someone say no but as I flew back to Prague later that week, as much as I tried, I couldn’t just get too worked up about it. For one, I appreciated his candor. For another, he was right.
Among most of the investors I meet, especially here in the Valley, Fred is the Warren Buffet of the consumer web. There are bigger investors (hello Seqoia), but if Fred invests, you know you have a solid business.
I suggest following his portfolio; it’s almost always worth your time.
