VCs: They're not the bad guys in the movie...

In recent years, being a venture capitalist has gone from being synonymous with innovation and progress to being under the public scrutiny. How can it be that those who fund the startups we use every day are seen as villains of the ecosystem?

Spoiler alert : VCs aren't the bad guys. Nor are they heroes. They're just another kind of startup.

Power law and the pursuit of home runs

In his book , The Power Law , journalist and author Sebastian Mallaby describes how venture capitalists don't compromise. They're not looking for "good" companies. They're looking for the next giants. The exceptions. The home runs .

This approach may seem cold or inhumane, but it makes economic sense: in this industry, a single right decision can pay for nine mistakes. If you invest in 10 startups, it's possible that seven will fail, two will return something, and only one will change your life (and return your entire fund). That's the famous power law .

Release Capital: The Other Side of VC

But Mallaby also introduces a concept that deserves more attention: liberation capital . Because VC doesn't just invest for profitability. It invests in possible futures. In rebels with a cause. In models that challenge the status quo .

Venture capital has been key to unleashing talent locked away in large corporations, funding ideas banks would never touch, and opening avenues where the traditional market saw nothing.

VCs also have doubts

From the outside, VCs appear cold, analytical, and impassive. But the reality is different: good funds hesitate, struggle, make mistakes, and take risks. And they do so with money that isn't theirs.

Many funds raise capital from universities, pension funds, or foundations. They have their own LPs (limited partners) who also demand results. And in times like the present—with less liquidity, more competition, and a market still healing post-2021—VC becomes more challenging than ever.

Venture capital = startup of startups

A VC fund is a startup in itself. It has to raise money, test its model, demonstrate results, iterate, pivot, survive cycles, hire people, scale... all just like a startup.

And most importantly, you have to help others progress . Because if you don't build bridges, if you don't truly accompany, if you don't get down to business with founders, you won't last. You become a soulless intermediary, and the market discards you.

Investing in the future (even if it hurts sometimes)

Yes, VCs seek profitability (just like startups). Yes, they prioritize unicorns over workhorses . But they are also key drivers of progress .

And while the public narrative increasingly paints them as the "bad guys" of the ecosystem, it's time to remember that, when they work well, VC funds unleash talent , fund bold ideas , and accelerate entire industries .

They're not perfect. But without them, many of the startups we admire today would never have existed.