Nov 27 2006

Why are VCs so indecisive?

Ever notice how indecisive many VCs are? Maybe I’m just quick tempered, but it bugs the hell out of me that so many of my venture colleagues can’t seem to make a decision. Sometimes this shows up in overanalyzing a prospective investment (just to turn it down later for a completely unrelated reason which came up in the first week of their diligence); sometimes in the line “we’re waiting to see if any other investor is interested in this deal before deciding to pursue it”; sometimes in a delay taking an action with a CEO when its clear something needs to be done; sometimes in simply not having a definitive opinion on any issue – ever – until someone else has spoken out. You get the picture (and I’m sure many of you have lived through it). I’m not at all saying we should say ‘yes’ to everything; nor am I suggesting that sometimes its not ok to simply have no opinion. But sometimes. . . perhaps most of the time . . . being definitive (even if you are definitively wrong) is better than being non-committal (and therefore noncommittally neither right nor wrong). Grrr.