“…in the bacon-and-egg breakfast of a startup, we were the chicken and the entrepreneur was the pig: We were involved, but she was committed.”

Ben Horowitz, The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Founders Lay It All on the Line

We investors have the easy job. Write a check, shake the founder’s hand, and now and then ask “How can I be helpful?”

It’s the founders that suffer. And not many suffered more than Jerry Kaplan, founder of GO.

GO created the first tablet computer in 1989 — the iPad 20 years before the iPad.

Jerry sacrificed everything to make it happen. As he worked long hours trying to make GO a success, the seasons passed without him.

Jerry’s Story

One day, he got a call from his father.

“‘Listen, I’ve got some bad news,” he said. ‘I’m going to die.’”

His father had end stage liver cancer. Jerry had hoped to spend more time with him once GO was on solid footing.

Now, that would never happen.

“I had ignored birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and the other events by which people mark the passage of time, figuring that I would apologetically hop back into the parade later. But now I was faced with the stark reality that life went on without me, ready or not, and once these landmarks were passed, there was no turning back to revisit them.”

Jerry was able to make it home just in time.

“‘Murray, Jerrold is here,’ [Jerry’s mother] whispered in his ear.”

“‘Now, I can die,’ he rasped weakly. I was badly shaken.”

Investors, Let’s Respect Their Sacrifice

Investors, let this sink in.

This is what this man sacrificed to build his company. No amount of money or “value add” from an investor can compare to what Jerry gave.

So when a company doesn’t work out, like GO didn’t, we must be gracious. Let’s recognize all that the founders and team gave, and work to support them for the future.

When GO collapsed, Jerry was worried his investors would be angry.

“First, I called Scott Sperling of Aneas. ‘Scott, the way I analyze the numbers, your EO stock is worth seventy-five cents for every dollar you invested in GO, at the very best.’

After his support in so many rounds of financing, I expected him to be upset, but he said, ‘What are you doing about finding new jobs for the people who got laid off?’”

That is a great investor. Instead of only worrying about what’s in it for him, Scott put the team first.

If you do that, the great deals will come to you. And more importantly, you’ll be a decent person.

Investor as L’Enfant Terrible

Unfortunately, some investors act like spoiled children.

One company I invested in was acquired for a small sum recently. We got almost all our money back — but even a tiny loss was enough to set one investor off.

He berated the founder and the lead investor, furious about a trivial loss. What he probably didn’t know was that this founder ended a long-term relationship and sacrificed his health to make the company work.

What did the investor sacrifice, a couple of dollars?

My Approach

I like to do things differently. So when it was all over, I took the founder out to coffee and pastries at one of my favorite spots in New York.

We sat and talked about how great the experience of building something new is, and kicked around ideas for the future. That’s when he told me about the other investor’s childish behavior.

I apologized to him on behalf of everyone. I knew he had done his best.

Wrap-Up

Investors, when your companies fail, be a mensch about it.

Thank the founders and team for giving it their all. Support them any way you can.

Building the future is a long game. If you keep at it with a positive attitude, you just might reach the promised land.

Founders, what have you sacrificed to make your company a success? Leave a comment and let us know!

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More on tech:

They Invented the iPad in 1989 — And Lost it All

The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Why I Love a Down Market and More at Starta VC

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Photo: Jerry Kaplan