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Venture Capital - Friday, July 13, 2007

Bessemer Mans Up To Passing On Google, Apple, Intel

Bessemer Ventures keeps it real by posting its anti-portfolio - startups that got huge after Bessemer passed on them. Its an impressive anti-portfolio that includes HP, eBay, Fedex and Paypal. It's a painful walk of shame but it would be impressive to see other VCs own up to their mistakes to show how tough investing can be.

On Paypal: "David Cowan passed on the Series A round. Rookie team, regulatory nightmare, and, 4 years later, a $1.5 billion acquisition by eBay."

On Fedex: "Incredibly, BVP passed on Federal Express seven times."

On Google: "Cowan’s college friend rented her garage to Sergey and Larry for their first year. In 1999 and 2000 she tried to introduce Cowan to “these two really smart Stanford students writing a search engine”. Students? A new search engine? In the most important moment ever for Bessemer’s anti-portfolio, Cowan asked her, “How can I get out of this house without going anywhere near your garage?”

View - Bessemer page via