Startup in Acton, That's All They Got

My startup seems to break every rule in the VC handbook:

• it's a boring story, not rocket science

• nothing really new in terms of inventions or technology, in fact it's more a Frankensteinian hodgepodge of existing technologies stiched together

• there's absolutely no barrier to entry, the proverbial two guys in a garage could do it but probably woudln't bother

• it's a pretty totally obvious idea

• stuff like this has been tried before, and it always fails

• there's little in the way of intellectual property protection

• nightmarish multi-billion-dollar competitors

• utter uncertainty the venture will find a receptive market

When the world gives you lemons, give them to someone else.

So I'm basically describing my venture precisely in these terms: total doom. Funny thing is, it seems to be working.

Yesterday I had a great 90-min chat with a VC, who's fascinated with what I'm doing, and he agreed with my assessment of the business from a "no way is this fundable" perspective, by adding:

"You need to add another item to your rule-breaking list: No clear revenue model."

He then added, seriously, that this is the kind of venture where it doesn't matter what the revenue model is. That it's worth spending $25 million on it just to build it and see what happens.

Alas, he didn't write a $25 million check right then and there...

Posted by brian at April 15, 2004 08:58 AM