We had it coming

1. Key Themes

VCs Are in the Perception Business, Not the Returns Business

The core structural reason VCs draw public ire is that their actual performance is unmeasurable on any useful timeline, forcing them into relentless self-promotion instead.

"In venture capital you can't really build a brand or reputation on performance. You can't advertise competence via returns. It just takes too long... Instead, VCs have to cultivate brands for themselves and their firms through omnipresence: they and their takes have to be everywhere always... Venture capitalists need to look smart because it's impossible to prove they're smart. Perception, not returns, is reality."

Rejection at Scale Creates Structural Resentment

The VC-founder dynamic is structurally adversarial because the modal outcome of any interaction is rejection, and VCs broadcast loudly while rejecting constantly.

"The overwhelming majority of interactions between the overwhelming majority of VCs and the overwhelming majority of founders ends in rejection. For most founders, raising capital feels like a humiliation ritual... HR managers don't gloat constantly on the internet. Because VCs are principally in the narrative business (not the returns business) they do all that rejecting while crowing and bragging on the internet."

VCs as Symbols of a Rigged System

Anti-VC sentiment is less about individual bad actors and more about what the asset class represents culturally — arbitrary gatekeeping over economic opportunity.

"VCs have become emblematic of a world arbitrarily stacked against you... People feel powerless in the shadow of this faceless market that blesses some and damns others, and almost overwhelmingly does not bless them. Seeing that market and that arbitrary kingmaking power personified in a small coterie of people, and then seeing those people be demonstrated to be stupid, dishonest, lazy, disrespectful, etc., is validating and vindicating."

The Monoculture Deficit and Its Value

Shared cultural moments — like a sports championship run — have become genuinely rare and economically and socially significant.

"We are increasingly bereft of monocultural events that focus the energy and attention of the world onto a single fulcrum. This Knicks run is the single most exciting, captivating, unifying event in my life as a New Yorker."

2. Contrarian Perspectives

Dunking on VCs is mostly hopium for founders

While the public pile-on feels cathartic, Rechtman argues it's largely false comfort. The anti-VC narrative is emotionally satisfying but practically misleading for most founders, because the rejections are usually correct.

"The catch, of course, is that it's the hopium of proving VCs wrong when, for the modal or even the 75th percentile founder, they're not wrong."

The VC backlash is actually deserved — even from a VC

Rather than defend his own class, Rechtman concedes the critique has genuine merit, a notably self-aware position from an insider.

"VCs are ultimately extraordinarily privileged. We don't work that hard. We don't add that much. We don't risk anything. We're generally all very lucky to get to spend our time with brilliant, passionate people... So on balance, I don't think it's bad for people to air their grievances and ask for more from their capital partners."

Bandwagoning is a feature, not a bug

Against the conventional sports-fan gatekeeping instinct, Rechtman argues new fans make the experience better for everyone.

"I love the bandwagoning for the same reasons I want more transplants in New York: it creates more vibrant fanbase to celebrate with. Why would I want to be alone at a party?"

3. Companies Identified

4. People Identified

5. Operating Insights

If you're a VC, your brand strategy is structurally broken by default — acknowledge it

The incentive to be omnipresent online while constantly rejecting founders is baked into the business model. The author suggests awareness and accountability are the minimum corrective.

"On balance, I don't think it's bad for people to air their grievances and ask for more from their capital partners."

Founders should be clear-eyed about rejection base rates before seeking funding

The psychological damage of fundraising comes partly from misaligned expectations. Understanding that rejection is the overwhelming norm — not a personal indictment — can help founders contextualize the process.

"The overwhelming majority of interactions between the overwhelming majority of VCs and the overwhelming majority of founders ends in rejection. For most founders, raising capital feels like a humiliation ritual."

6. Overlooked Insights

The anti-VC sentiment has measurably intensified since 2019

Rechtman first diagnosed the same dynamic six years ago, but signals the current moment represents an escalation — suggesting the founder-VC trust gap is widening, not a cyclical blip.

"The readiness to join the dunk-a-thon is a sign of the times, and of how seemingly arbitrary the market has become, even compared to a few years ago when I first wrote this."

Rechtman's investment thesis flags AI's second-order effects, not AI itself

Buried in his bio, his stated interest in "AI's second-order effects" rather than AI directly is a meaningful signal about where he sees underpriced opportunity — in downstream industries reshaped by AI rather than AI infrastructure itself.

"I'm interested in real world businesses, hybrid software companies, AI's second-order effects, healthcare, network effects, and fintech."