Can You Trust An Early-Stage VC With a HIR and EIR?

Can You Trust An Early-Stage VC With a HIR and EIR?(alexstechthoughts.com)

27 points by mschonfeld 13 years ago | 17 comments

I think you can trust VC firms because they are incentivised to not steal your idea. In fact, they see that many ideas there will probably be 4-5 entrepreneurs pitching them the same idea potentially with the same/slightly different spin on it.

By incentivised, I mean that if a VC firm is known to steal ideas then entrepreneurs, will generally avoid them (especially if the VC firm that stole the idea was an early-staged VC) which means that their deal flow will dry up – something no VC firm wants.

Having an EIR and/or HIR allows a VC firm to provide their portfolio companies with a better level of service. VC firms are providing more than just money, they’re providing help with resources which are/maybe too early for a startup to have and when you do need them they’re helping you fill those roles – specifically they’re providing things like finance, marketing, HR, PR help etc and having an EIR and/or HIR increases the amount of service they have offer to their portfolio companies.

Ataub24 13 years ago | |

Definitely. Thanks for this. The post was specifically early-stage - and it isn't the VC that would steal it - it's the HIR and EIR - the VC would still fund it, but just their guys/gals. But everything you said makes a lot of sense.

arbuge 13 years ago |

I was an EIR once. The thought of copying someone's idea never even vaguely occurred to me - indeed, I was taken on board to further develop a preexisting idea. May not be true at less reputable venture firms, but in general the maxim of not worrying too much about people stealing your idea still applies.

That said, it's the first time I hear of HIRs, and I don't think retaining such people at VCs makes any sense, precisely because this concern seems more real. It's cool if the VCs themselves have hacker backgrounds of course, but having a full time hacker on board is another matter.

Hitchhiker 13 years ago |

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a post where there will be much " strategic " silence in terms of comments and loads of up-votes.

greghinch 13 years ago |

If the team is good, no amount of competition will kill a company with a good idea. Think about it this way: how many great products and services do you use that have no competition? If your idea and team are worth investing in, then no one will be able to stop you by "stealing" the idea.

arethuza 13 years ago |

Can someone explain to me what a HIR and EIR would do at a VC?

Ataub24 13 years ago | |

hacker in residence can do a bunch of things. build new website for them, build stuff on portfolio companys APIs, start building their own project. depends on the vc and what they want. Also depends on the hacker and what they want.

entrepreneur in residence is supposed to be working on a startup- while also participating on investments- they can bring in deals, help portfolio companies, vet imminent investments, etc.

helpful?

arethuza 13 years ago | | |

Yes thanks.

chimeracoder 13 years ago | |

I'm the Hacker-in-Residence at Quotidian Ventures, an early-stage venture firm in New York. My background is in server-side engineering in data science.

Ataub24 explained it well, though it varies widely from firm to firm. In my case, I spend a significant chunk of my time working with the partners and the rest of the venture team on managing the investment portfolio and helping with dealflow. When there are opportunities to use technology or data to improve our workflow and decision-making process, this can come in handy, though that's not always the case. A lot of this is similar to what an EIR might be responsible for doing as well, though with a technical bent.

The rest of the time can be thought of as "20% time", except without a specific % attached to it. While there's the possibility of building a project that could be spun out, this isn't an explicit goal or requirement; my value-add comes from my ability to assist with dealflow and the rest of the work on the venture side, so the rest of my time doesn't come with any obligation, so to speak. In this way, it's not too dissimilar from a traditional 'artist-in-residence'. (This is where Quotidian differs from a number of other firms).

arethuza 13 years ago | | |

Thanks for that, one question: Are you an employee of Quotidian?

funnyguy123 13 years ago |

Please stop writing this sort of junk:

"Ideas are valueless, it is all about execution. Anyone who says differently is either misinformed or unable to execute."

Ataub24 13 years ago | |

super constructive. thanks.

funnyguy123 13 years ago | | |

If you're going to take such a dogmatic stance in your writing then you should be prepared for the criticism. I don't think anyone is interested in rehashing the debate about the value of ideas on this thread. Suffice it to say there are plenty of very well informed people who have built companies and believe that ideas are valuable and worth protecting. So when you demean your audience by suggesting otherwise you can expect people to take offense, dismiss whatever else you have to say, or both.

ivankirigin 13 years ago |

It is so much more likely that your product is bad because you avoid telling people about it than your product idea is copied and crushed by another upstart

rficcaglia 13 years ago |

It happens. Personal experience. That said, if you do your homework on the team you can minimize the probability.

Doesn't minimize the sting sadly.

beachstartup 13 years ago |

i see a lot of "the VCs are incentivized against stealing..."

what will happen is the HIR/EIR will take an idea that they haven't invested in yet (heard during a pitch, maybe), and incorporate it into a company they HAVE invested in.