VC Cliche of the Week

So many times in life you need to make a choice between two people.

It could be a new hire, a roomate, an investor, someone to sell or buy something to/from. The list goes on and on.

I have found that its almost always best to go with someone you know if you can.

Because the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know.

I must have said this cliche a thousand times so far in my career.

It’s a rule that I live by and I advise my companies to live by too.

It’s why we love investing in teams we have invested in before.

It’s why we encourage our management teams to hire people they know well over people they don’t know.

It’s why social networks like LinkedIn, Tribe, MySpace, etc exist.  Knowing someone gives you comfort, trust, and allows you to take a risk you might not otherwise take.

The use of the word devil in this cliche has always interested me.  Being a VC, who are accused of being evil (ie devils), I have often thought this cliche was particularly relevant to entrepreneurs picking VCs to invest in their companies.  The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know.

It’s also why I chose to run this one this week.  Halloween is a great time of year and devils were out in spades Monday night. Seeing one of them walk down the street inspired this post.  I hope you find it useful.