It is a cold, windy morning. I squeeze my green tea, as if it was a life line (yes, I’m the person with tea routine – don’t judge). I unlock my phone to my holy ritual: scrolling messages and pretending to be productive.
And then – bam. Next. Other LinkedIn Post.
My brain screams: “Noope”.
Honestly? I should have been to go with Ashwagandh. I want an additional Zen.
Slowly and then much more
Venture Capital has at all times been a freestyle of finance engine – less Wall Street, more Patagonia Puffer. Millionarians with a hood. Depicks on the strokes. If the costumes didn’t say enough, there is at all times an annual VC pilgrimage to Burning Man or control of Cape Town in winter.
This world acts on capital, but develops on narrative. And emotions appear with the narrative. The undertaking has at all times been pleased with open minds and blunt feedback. Twitter over the years (sorry, “X“) He was a city square where sharp elbows and spicy clothes ruled the channel. It didn’t matter if you were right – only that you simply were fast, loud and perhaps a bit clever.
As one investor once told me: “If this is not controversial, I’m not interested.” This is what he sums up.
Then more muddy
Difficult conversations were once a sign of maturity. Difficult standards? Encouraged. But somewhere along the way we turned the substance for a spectacle. If your “undertaking is broken”, it does not pull out over 100 likes, it has not suffered enough. Then we went from naming “broken” things to overt necrologists:
“Venture is dead.”
“Fintech is dead.”
“Bay Area is over.”
“[Insert top-tier firm] He lost his advantage. “
These are not parodies, but they are inspired by real tweets, headers and conversations. The digital partitions of the undertaking are covered with posthumous – some thoughtful, many performative, just about all designed to involve.
But don’t scroll yet. Because the humiliation has evolved. Now it is less screaming, more passive and aggressive story. The latest wave of fighting the undertaking not only shows fingers-he points with his fingers, pretending that it failed.
Here is the movement: “Matters went crazy in 2020–21. VCS lost its discipline.”
Sounds neutral, right? But the subtext is clear: “We were adults in peace. Others have lost their minds.”
This is a poetic shift of guilt. Collective touched arms wrapped in a probable denial. Irony? Many individuals who nod their heads were a part of a very noise he now criticizes.
Everyone desires to be an exception by destroying the rule.
This is not only a critic – this is a performance. Content disguised as an insight. The more dramatic the headline, the greater the grip. And yet the real query is not: “Why do we do it?” “Why does it work so well?”
Productive, respectful, thoughtful
People are smart. Algorithms? Not so much.
We optimize for virality, write for heat and rely on controversies. But when the same hot exhibitions appear at LP meetings or Startup conference rooms, the subtext is not lost. The shade is not subtle. And the people we think we are cheating? They see it well.
We all know when criticism is simply a blow in the costume.
So here is my opinion: Drop the shenanigans. We don’t have to smoke investment capital to the ground to listen. We don’t have to put in writing praise to encourage repair. Not every part has to be dismantled with the humiliation of one -law.
Sometimes the most radical movement is constructive. We need a return to construction culture. This includes the way we are talking about our own industry. Last few years? Messy. Mistakes? Plenty. But that does not imply the model is dead.
This implies that we adapt, learn, calibrate again. This is what mature ecosystems do. This is what good investors do.
Let’s make an undertaking again – not by softening, but by sharpening it with honesty.
Thoughtful does not mean toothless. Respect does not mean boring. And productivity does not mean blindly optimistic. This means the development of a conversation without burning a village for clicks.
Because the Venture capital matters. He funds ideas that shape our future. The money we implement is not only capital – it’s faith. And the belief, well managed, is a multiplier of strength for innovation.
We need it now greater than ever. The rates are too high in the case of performative nihilism. If we would like to take a seat at the table where the future is built, let’s behave as if we deserved to be. Not by humiliating the game. But raising the standard.