I Stopped Telling People I’m a VC

When asked what I did, I confidently said “I’m a VC.” Not a trader, not a banker, not private equity. Not too long ago I changed it to “I work with start-ups.”

Being a VC was the answer that got you off the hook at a dinner party, it was the finance-but-not-finance job that was somehow “cooler” in NYC. I spent time talking about portfolio companies (people loved to hear about e-commerce and consumer companies). It was usually a fun, light conversation.

Subconsciously (maybe consciously), I’m less proud of the profession. Part of why I moved into tech in the 90s was that it wasn’t Wall Street. Gordon Gekko and Liar’s Poker were the foil, the thing we were explicitly not. They were the Masters of the Universe, with the flashy money and the big parties. We were the guys working with masters and PhDs in Sciences who wanted to bring their cool inventions to market.

We’re all a bit living in a Silicon Valley episode.

I’m not sure when this all turned. Occupy Wall St was aimed at the banks and we were still the good guys then, maybe even the alternative. The tech backlash came later and I’m not sure we noticed it arriving, or noticed that it eventually included us. Now AI has put a lot of money and a lot of attention on VCs, and it feels a bit like the Gordon Gekko moment for our industry, which is what I hoped to avoid.

Maybe this is just what happens when the money shows up. Some people are getting very rich and want you to know it. It happened to the bankers, then the PE guys, and I don’t know why we assumed we’d be exempt. Though ironically, all of them keep their mouths shut now. Wonder if that’s a lesson learned.

Does “VC” land differently for others now? When did this change?