Love motivates people to work through challenges that might otherwise lead them to give up. If those founders had focused on building for a customer they genuinely loved, they would have been more likely to persevere and create something that addressed a deep need. If they were to find a customer they loved serving, I would invest in them again.
nice - on the importance of customer obsession and falling in love with a customer, not a product.
I just talked to a founder whose startup is growing "only" 25% a year and thus felt he needed to get bought. I explained that if he did, he'd need to find somewhere to invest the proceeds, and he'd be unlikely to find any investments that grew at 25% a year.