Startup Insider: A Shocking Amount of Exit Experience

For years, venture capital (VC) firms have favored founders who have experience leading companies to successful exits.

“Look for founders with prior exits,” VC investors say. “They know what they’re doing.”

But Drake Dukes, co-founder of data company Gravity, analyzed 992 unicorn founders and discovered only 3% of them had a prior exit.

Andy Gordon can’t believe it. And this revelation is raising a lot of questions for him.

So in today’s Startup Insider, Andy and Vin Narayanan break down the thinking behind this long-held belief. They also explore the less quantifiable metrics — like timing and luck — that are beyond founders’ control. 

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