Success in Hollywood isn’t linear—it’s viral. A project’s credibility snowballs based on who else has signed on or how much buzz it’s generated. You need collective buy-in at various stages: the festival buzz, the big-name executive producer, the Oscar-winning actor’s attachment, the previous hit that justifies confidence in this new venture.

In that sense, venture can be seen as faith-based finance—a “religion of optionality,” a congregation built around elusive networkeffects. Every term sheet is like a little altar to belief in the future.

Each VC fund is essentially selling belief—belief in its own ability to pick winners and in the world-changing potential of its startups. LPs buy into the GPs conviction; the GPs buy into founders’ visionary narratives; the founders, in turn, must sell the dream downstream to employees, customers, and eventually public investors. Everyone, at each... See more

“ Man is the creature who does not know what to desire, and he turns to others in order to make up his mind. We desire what others desire because we imitate their desires ” .