The American investor

It is harsh words that Neil Rimer chooses: “… to our surprise, we continue to meet founders who have made serious mistakes in the early stages of financing which ultimately jeopardize the foundations of their businesses and are presumably inconsistent with their instincts.”

Lunchtalk with Lars Hinrichs


The co-founder and partner of venture capitalist Index Ventures is the American startup founder. In an open letter, published in the WSJ Tech blog of the Wall Street Journal the United States


He sees the main mistake of American founders


However, investors were holding more than half of the shares at an early stage, criticized Rimer, whether it would be extremely difficult for their investors to structure their investment. Finally, the aim should be to create a sound financial base.


Rimer writes: "Of course, the blame for such 'wind-blown' structures is not the sole source of the angels' investment. To some extent, the founders bear a blame as they have either accumulated too much capital or given away their shares without affecting future capital increases In many cases, founders start with a certain degree of naivete, especially when they are their first company, but they can only be blamed for this, but they can make conclusions about their judgment and their priorities, if they were quick , Thoughtless deals can get an experienced guide. "


Index Ventures is one of the most renowned venture capital providers in the technology scene. In the United States, the fund is involved in the Soundcloud music service and the Dropshop online market. Also the highly acclaimed and deeply fallen recommendation service Amen belongs to the index portfolio.


Rimer has thus entered into a debate that has been fading for months. In the election campaign, Xing founder Lars Hinrichs tried to sensitize the policy, Minister of Economics Philipp Rösler, together with Intershop founder Stephan Schambach, had brought a revival of the Neuer Markt market segment into play. In the lunch talk of Wiwo.de Hinrichs also spoke of a surplus offer to seed capital: "We swim in the money." At the same time, however, "lack of typical follow-up funding, as it is in the USA, is missing