I was chatting to a friend that had ‘investor problems’ and we came to the conclusion that many angels suffer from paranoia. The World Health Organization paranoid personality disorder is characterized by the following:
- excessive sensitivity to setbacks and rebuffs;
- tendency to bear grudges persistently, i.e. refusal to forgive insults and injuries or slights;
- suspiciousness and a pervasive tendency to distort experience by misconstruing the neutral or friendly actions of others as hostile or contemptuous;
- a combative and tenacious sense of personal rights out of keeping with the actual situation;
- recurrent suspicions, without justification, regarding sexual fidelity of spouse or sexual partner;
- tendency to experience excessive self-importance, manifest in a persistent self-referential attitude;
- preoccupation with unsubstantiated “conspiratorial” explanations of events both immediate to the patient and in the world at large.
If you’ve encountered three or more of these symptoms with your investor, you almost certainly have a paranoid angel. The good news are that it’s treatable with anti-anxiety medications, such as Vodka, Whiskey and large quantities of beer ;-)
Trust is a huge factor for both startup and investor in this long-term relationship, so make sure you do your due diligence and align your goals as early as possible.
Co Founder and Managing Partner at Remagine Ventures
Eze Vidra is the founder of VC Cafe and the co-founder and managing partner of Remagine Ventures, a pre-seed fund investing in ambitious founders at the intersection of AI, technology, entertainment, gaming, and commerce with a spotlight on Israel.
He is a former General Partner at Google Ventures (GV) in Europe, former head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe, and founding head of Campus London, Google's first startup hub. Eze writes on Israeli tech, venture capital, artificial intelligence, and founder strategy.
He is also the founder of Techbikers, a nonprofit that brings together the startup ecosystem on cycling challenges in support of Room to Read.
He is a former General Partner at Google Ventures (GV) in Europe, former head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe, and founding head of Campus London, Google's first startup hub. Eze writes on Israeli tech, venture capital, artificial intelligence, and founder strategy.
He is also the founder of Techbikers, a nonprofit that brings together the startup ecosystem on cycling challenges in support of Room to Read.
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