Killing the Entrepreneur

Why Pittsburgh lags behind: Local entrepreneurs get advised to stay away from "risk-averse" investors, like venture capitalists.

I used to represent VCs. I know first-hand that they can suck the blood out of a vampire, and I know that they don't have much interest in making sure that the person who came up with the idea and nurtured it for years on a shoestring gets a "fair" cut of the proceeds when the public offering ship comes in.

But in a lot of cases -- and real entrepreneurs know this -- the venture community is the very best source of both money and much-needed managerial expertise. Most academics-with-an-idea don't have a clue about running a real company. Friends and family money will only take you so far. Banks won't be much help. Neither one will take a spot on your board and force you to make hard but necessary decisions. For most startups, the choice is internal growth that leads to death-by-a-thousand-cuts, or a venture deal that cuts out the founders prematurely but gets the idea, and the company, into a real marketplace. You want growth? There are no guarantees. There is only risk. Pittsburgh needs to make the venture community a welcome and visible part of the business culture.