They win through speed, empathy, and expertise. By avoiding firm politics, solo investors can move more quickly, committing to a round in hours or days. Many are current or previous operators, giving them empathy for founders’ journeys. Some bring unique expertise to the table, too.
One of the reasons that Here Comes Everybody holds up comparatively well in 2022 against its contemporaries is Shirky’s willingness to recognize how broader social forces might thwart the “inevitable” effects of a technology on society.
A third big issue in the venture industry is that most modern venture firms have broken incentive structures that misalign outcomes between GPs and LPs.