另类种子投资策略

    风险投资的成功不是随随便便得来，种子投资更是如此。不管策略是什么，总会有失败，可能需要不断调整方向，然后才会有少数投资获得成功。但是正如Castlight和Ariosa那样，成功的滋味真的很美妙。

    可以在一家公司的成型期提供帮助；与企业家建立亲密而富有成效的关系，并在随后的融资中提高持股比例。早早为项目提供帮助会让团队更愿意与你合作——基本上，你会跟他们变得像一家人一样。这个月我进行了2012年的种子投资，投资对象是医疗保健IT领域一家低调的公司。我想这些创业家们会告诉你，我们积极参与早期种子投资的良好记录（按这些CEO们的话说），是他们决定与Venrock合作的最重要因素。我们会尽我们所能，不让他们失望。

    最后，每家风投公司的目标都是要为有限合伙人创造出色的回报。我们相信，我们在种子投资中设定目标和时限的做法与其他公司不同，从一开始就为被投资公司提供资源（避免了他们采用其他种子模型），增强了打造伟大公司的概率。但这需要创业家和风投家之间的相互信赖有一个跨越式的提升——我们盼望迈出这一步。

    布莱恩·罗伯茨是帕洛阿尔托风投公司Venrock的合伙人，在公司里他主要侧重于医疗保健投资。

    译者：杨智

    Success in venture investing is really hard to come by, and with seed investing even more so. No matter what the strategy, there will be failures and even more pivots before those few that succeed become great. That said, as with Castlight and Ariosa, when it works, it is awesome.

    You can assist in a company's formative stage; create close and productive relationships with entrepreneurs; as well as build your ownership over subsequent financings. Early help in the project typically leads the team to want to work with no one else but you – in essence, you have become part of the family.  This month I made my seed investment for 2012 – a stealth company, also in the healthcare IT space. I think these entrepreneurs would tell you that our track record as active participants in prior seeds, as described by those CEO's, was the over-riding factor in their decision to work with Venrock. We will do our best not to disappoint them.

    In the end, every VC firm's goal is to create great returns for its limited partners. We believe that a targeted, time-intensive approach to seed investing is orthogonal to others' and increases the chance of creating great companies by affording them resources early on that they would not get in other seed models.  But it requires a leap of faith and trust between entrepreneur and VC – a leap we are eager to take.

    Bryan Roberts is a Palo Alto-based partner with venture capital firm Venrock, where he focuses on healthcare investments.