No they're a small investment business. There's a lot of small businesses that aren't "startups" that do a lot of the same things that Startups do but opening a McDonald's franchise isn't a startup either. I run a small agency of about 10 folks, I'm sure I do a lot of the same things as a startup founder does, we work with startups all the time, but that doesn't make my business a startup.<p>Hey we're all entrepreneurs though.
This post just helps reinforce the opinion that most VCs don't really know what startups do. Yes, they both raise money and some even have a website. That's where the similarities end.<p>With some outliers, most VCs don't try to create new value, they just try to create new money. The risk they take is minimal compared to startups - it's not their money (it's their investors), and a nice cushy salary is all but assured for several years. Even when they fail (and they fail a lot - like most businesses do) - they barely feel each failure compared to how the startups feel it (I guess their reputation / pride takes a hit?).<p>If you want to self promote - as an entrepreneur, I would much rather read about how you are adding value instead of convincing me you don't know what I do either.
Everyone's life FEELS hard, especially compared to the lives of those a few rungs up the ladder.<p>That said, not everyone's life IS hard. If you can afford not to take a paycheck for a few months to work on a dream, perhaps you should recalibrate your "how hard life is"-o-meter.
Jonathon's had a lot of portfolio success, has a great sense of humor, and is awesome to work with. Whether or not he runs a startup, I don't know, it's mostly semantics IMO, but I do know I'd go back to him at every raise. I think the point he's trying to make is that he's "one of the guys" and therefore an entrepreneur-friendly VC. I'd agree wholeheartedly. He also has a ninja-like backhand in table tennis.