Who are the Successful Venture Capitalists?

    There was a wonderful article on venture capital in the Sunday Business section of the New York times on May 22, 2005 ("So You Want to Be a Venture Capitalist" by Gary Rivlin).  In cleaning up I have come across the piece that I had set aside.

    Rivlin makes the point that there is a difference between being a successful entreprenuer (and making money) and running a venture capital fund.  With examples, he demonstrates that successful entrepreneurs who believe they can use their experience to be venture capitalists (choosing among other start-ups) have had a very rough time  -- "the experience proved humbling" and a sure way to lose lots of money.  "Some can do and some can't and there's no way of telling until they take the field."  Sanford Robertson says.  Choosing among portofolio companies and helping them along is proving to be a very different skill from running one yourself.  One of the best venture capitalists, Michael Moritz with Sequoia, never ran a company, he was a business journalist for Time magazine.