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Vamshi Yadav
•
SucSEED Ventures • 10d
We ought to be talking about those truly hurting things - Gensol, BluSmart, Medikabazaar... These should not just be considered bad Investment decisions but should also be considered cautionary tales for the startup ecosystem. After seeing this play out more often than I would have liked: To my founding friends: "Fake it till you make it" is not just unethical; it's a poison to the ecosystem. For every founder who misuses investors' money, 100 honest builders will now find it harder to raise funds. These trumped-up numbers leave behind unpaid employees, vendors that get screwed, and trust that will take years to rebuild. To my investor friends: Are we really professionals if we are only looking at the glitzy pitch decks and Excel models? When did uncomfortable questions about cash burn or founder integrity stop being asked? Passing on problematic deals to the next investor does not count as "smart;" this is the way we all end up holding the can. The hard truth is that there are likely 10 other time bombs, silently ticking in your portfolios, for every single public blowup. The good news is that this can change: • Founders: Build as if this were your last company (because if you're cutting corners, it will be) • Investors: Look deeper than numbers; culture due diligence is non-negotiable • Ecosystem: Call out shit early, not after the crash Some food for thought: What is one intervention we should adopt to ensure scenarios like Gensols don't happen? Write your thoughts below; good ideas deserve to be heard.
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