Ron Conway Speaks About Porches and Porsches

June 11, 2007 at 12:10 am PT

I had lunch with well-known angel investor Ron Conway recently and we had a lively discussion about a range of topics, including the venture business (better than ever!), innovation (better than better than ever!), monetizing video content on the Web (best of all!) and more.

Ron also had a bit to get off his chest about entrepreneurs getting signing bonuses from VCs eager to close a deal. I was, of course, shocked, shocked, shocked to find out VCs offered such Turkish delights to attract business. In this vein, Ron and I had a funny miscommunication about porches versus Porsches for start-ups. Bottom line: Just say no to both!

Check it out:

Tagged with: digital, Internet, Kara Swisher, Ron Conway, VC

comments so far. Add yours.

http://allthingsd.com/ mario ruiz

Great Conversation!!!

Silicon Valley high pace on Innovation. Opportuninies on: Structurated Social Network, Visual Content, Adsense for Video.

The debate here is if the entrepenour must receive money outside the project? My answer is no way. Not only for the ethical prtoblem Ron rised, but also for a pratical point of viw. A 1M $ in the pocket of a person who has to work to make succeed the company is not the best incentive.

Mario Ruiz
http://www.oursheet.com
http://www.boxxet.com You Mon Tsang

From an entrepreneur’s point of view:

An entrepreneur can get pretty deep into a company–invest her own money, take below-market salaries, etc. Doing this can make the entrepreneur more risk averse (can’t blow this since she has to paint the porch).

Giving an entrepreneur an early and partial earnout, which is not a “bribe” but a payout of the value created, is a reasonable way to align the interest of an entrepreneur and the risk-happy VC.

That said, this does not happen often, so when it does happen, it does appear SHOCKING!