a16z partner breaks down the three types of risk every VC must evaluate
“So first of all, I think as an investor, you have to decide what kind of risk you wanna take.”
Price to progress ratio is incredibly mismatched between a 25,000,000 seat. Why am I wrong? Yeah. Well, okay. So first of all, I think as an investor, you have to decide what kind of risk you wanna take. Okay? So that is what we're paid to do. So let's talk through what are the different types of risk. So the first risk is one that you mentioned. That is competitive risk. Can I win this process or not? Okay? The second risk, and this is maybe a slightly less good risk to take but I think still a fine one, is pricing risk. Did I overpay? And again, I think the way that shows up is the difficulty of the next round based on your entry price. Right? Maybe the third risk is, team risk. Can this team actually go the distance? You know, can the company be can they be big enough to fulfill the company's ambitions? Because I think the founder themselves
About this clip
Anish Acharya from a16z explains his framework for evaluating investment risk, breaking it down into three categories: competitive risk (can you win), pricing risk (did you overpay), and team risk (can founders execute). He discusses how each type of risk should factor into investment decisions and what investors are really paid to assess.
Why this clip
Provides a clear, actionable framework that both investors and founders can use to think about risk assessment in venture deals.
What they said next
You have to be irrationally optimistic to do it. You also have to be irrationally interested in the domain because these things get hot and cold all the time. That authenticity - sometimes well-intentioned people have a reason they're building their company other than authentic connection to the problem. That's a setup for promiscuity.
51:12 - 40s · Practical Framework
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