The Significance Of Grey Hair

One reader asked whether VCs think talented young entrepreneurs are sufficiently qualified managers. The answer to this is ‘it depends’.

VCs frequently take meetings with less experienced entrepreneurs and they often invest in them. Experience is not inherently a barrier. Nobody assumes that being less experienced makes you incapable of building substantial value. What some entrepreneurs lack in experience they more than make up for in hunger, creativity, intelligence and drive.

Young entrepreneurs are valued. VCs expect them to have unique drive and commitment to their ideas that can improve the odds of success. This energy factor can go a long way in some aspects of the business, including product design, inspiring employees and grabbing lots of media attention.

However some companies are more complex, requiring management to develop large organizations, enterprise sales functions and other more technical business components. In most cases, theses initiatives are more successful when someone with deep experience leads the charge.

As a result, the answer to this question is a function of what the business intends to accomplish. If there are business units that require substantial experience, a team of young guns isn’t going to be sufficient.

The key to success for less experienced entrepreneurs lies in understanding that they don’t know what they don’t know. Being wise enough to seek help is a critical component of success. The takeaway from this is that entrepreneurs should do their best to objectively evaluate the needs of their company and make a best effort to put the right team together regardless of age.

This column was provided by Mark Davis. Mark is the author of Get Venture, a column designed to help entrepreneurs raise venture capital. In addition to his column, Mark is active in the venture community as an entrepreneur, advisor and venture capitalist. He currently works at DFJ Gotham Ventures, a leading early-stage IT venture capital fund based in NYC. Mark earned his B.A. in Economics with a minor in History at Duke University and is pursuing his MBA at Columbia Business School, where he is the Early Stage President of the Private Equity and Venture Capital Club and the Founder of the Columbia Venture Community .