I know nothing about UK investment culture, but I have been building startups for 15 years, volunteered for multiple accelerators, made angel investments and rubbed shoulders with many US VCs.
My impression of the US VC industry, especially near the end of the zirp era and even more especially during covid, the amount of VC capital being deployed far surpassed the number of competent VCs or startup founders.
Many VCs were making decisions based on factors that were NOT correlated with future venture success. Many VCs in fact probably biased companies away from future success, because they didn't understand what they were doing and their instincts from prior industries or investment regimes were directly the opposite of what was needed for an early stage startup.
In other words, there is risk aversion, and there is foolishness. I know for a fact there was a lot of foolishness going on in us VC investing (I even participated in some of it, learned from it, and I know better now).
I'm not just talking about VCs throwing money at anyone with a pitch deck. I'm talking about VCs having a backwards understanding of what makes startups successful and actively pressuring startups that could have worked into doing the wrong things.
There is a core of US VCs that are the world leaders in what they do, exceptionally aware of what makes startups successful and have the track record to prove it - this minority is overwhelming responsible for the industry's ROI. There is also a massive graveyard of fools who tried to replicate that success and failed for a variety of reasons.
My impression of the US VC industry, especially near the end of the zirp era and even more especially during covid, the amount of VC capital being deployed far surpassed the number of competent VCs or startup founders.
Many VCs were making decisions based on factors that were NOT correlated with future venture success. Many VCs in fact probably biased companies away from future success, because they didn't understand what they were doing and their instincts from prior industries or investment regimes were directly the opposite of what was needed for an early stage startup.
In other words, there is risk aversion, and there is foolishness. I know for a fact there was a lot of foolishness going on in us VC investing (I even participated in some of it, learned from it, and I know better now).
I'm not just talking about VCs throwing money at anyone with a pitch deck. I'm talking about VCs having a backwards understanding of what makes startups successful and actively pressuring startups that could have worked into doing the wrong things.
There is a core of US VCs that are the world leaders in what they do, exceptionally aware of what makes startups successful and have the track record to prove it - this minority is overwhelming responsible for the industry's ROI. There is also a massive graveyard of fools who tried to replicate that success and failed for a variety of reasons.