2004年,，柏尚投資（Bessemer Venture Partners）合伙人杰瑞米·勒凡花了一個(gè)周末待在公司寓所,，竭力回避一位堅(jiān)忍不拔的哈佛學(xué)生。這名學(xué)生反復(fù)游說勒凡投資他和別人在幾個(gè)月前創(chuàng)立的社交媒體公司,。最后,，勒凡打斷了他的滔滔不絕，給了他一些殘酷的建議：“孩子,，你沒聽過Friendster嗎,？走開，結(jié)束了,！”

這名學(xué)生是愛德華多·薩維林,。那家公司叫Facebook。

作為美國(guó)歷史最悠久的風(fēng)投公司之一,，柏尚投資的投資組合星光熠熠,，其中不乏諸如LinkedIn、Yelp和Pinterest這類大名鼎鼎的公司,。不過,，他們最值得驕傲的地方還在于“反投資組合”。當(dāng)初他們拒絕投資的公司除Facebook外,，還包括蘋果（“貴得令人發(fā)指,！”）和eBay（“郵票？錢幣,？漫畫書,？你在開玩笑吧！”）,。

看看以下這些錯(cuò)失的絕好投資機(jī)會(huì),，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)即使是經(jīng)驗(yàn)最豐富的投資者，有時(shí)也會(huì)鑄下令他們抱憾終生的大錯(cuò),。

投資機(jī)會(huì)：Airbnb

錯(cuò)過者：克里斯·薩卡,，弗雷德·威爾遜

In 2004, Jeremy Levine, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, spent a weekend at a corporate retreat actively avoiding a relentless Harvard student. The student had repeatedly tried to pitch him a social media company he had co-founded just a few months prior. Finally, Levine snapped and gave him some brutal advice: “Kid, haven’t you heard of Friendster? Move on. It’s over!”

The student was Eduardo Saverin. And the company? That would be Facebook.

BVP is one of the oldest venture capital firms in the country with some great companies in its portfolio, including LinkedIn, Yelp and Pinterest. Yet one of BVP’s biggest points of pride is its “anti-portfolio” — the investments the firm decided to pass on. In addition to Facebook, Apple (“outrageously expensive”) and eBay (“Stamps? Coins? Comic books? You’ve GOT to be kidding”) are also on the list.

See the following cringe-worthy missed deals that show how even the most experienced investors sometimes make gigantic mistakes.

Airbnb

克里斯·薩卡：這位擁有億萬身家的風(fēng)投家沒有投資Airbnb，因?yàn)樗J(rèn)為租用一間房東仍然在家的房間“太危險(xiǎn)了”,。

弗雷德·威爾遜：當(dāng)Airbnb創(chuàng)始人拜訪聯(lián)合廣場(chǎng)風(fēng)投（Union Square Ventures）時(shí),，風(fēng)投家弗雷德·威爾遜無法認(rèn)同“在客廳地面上放橡膠氣墊”的想法,。他表示：“我們過于關(guān)注他們當(dāng)時(shí)在做什么，而忽視了他們能做什么,?！?/p>

投資機(jī)會(huì)：亞馬遜

錯(cuò)過者：OVP Venture Partners

Chris Sacca: The billionaire venture capitalist passed on Airbnb because renting a room in a house while owners were still home would be “too dangerous.”

Fred Wilson: When Airbnb’s founders came to visit Union Square Ventures, VC Fred Wilson just couldn’t get behind the idea of “air mattresses on the living room floor.” He says, “We focused too much on what they were doing at the time and not enough on what they could do.”

Amazon

OVP與亞馬遜首席執(zhí)行官曾經(jīng)達(dá)成過一項(xiàng)君子協(xié)議。這家風(fēng)投機(jī)構(gòu)將按照融資后1000萬美元的估值,，出資200萬獲取該公司20%的股份,。然而在最后關(guān)頭，風(fēng)投家約翰·杜爾愿意以融資后4000萬美元的估值,，出資800萬獲取該公司20%的股份,。這項(xiàng)口頭協(xié)議最終宣告流產(chǎn)。OVP的網(wǎng)站上寫道：“為了以牙還牙,，我們后來只在Barnes & Noble買書,。我們認(rèn)為亞馬遜沒有注意到這點(diǎn)?！?/p>

投資機(jī)會(huì)：蘋果

錯(cuò)過者：柏尚投資

OVP Venture Partners: OVP had a handshake term sheet with the Amazon CEO to invest $2 million for 20% of the company at a $10 million post-money value. At the last minute, VC John Doerr offered $8 million for 20% of the company at a $40 million post-money value. OVP’s handshake deal fell through. “To get even, we buy all our books at Barnes & Noble,” OVP’s website reads. “We don’t think Amazon has noticed.”

Apple

柏尚投資的尼爾·布朗斯坦本來有機(jī)會(huì)在蘋果上市前投資該公司次級(jí)股票,，不過他表示，蘋果當(dāng)時(shí)的估值“高達(dá)”6000萬美元,，“貴得令人發(fā)指”,。

投資機(jī)會(huì)：Dropbox

錯(cuò)過者：克里斯·薩卡

Bessemer Venture Partners: BVP’s Neill Brownsteincalled it “outrageously expensive” after having the chance to invest in pre-IPO secondary stock at at $60 million valuation.

Dropbox

他沒有投資Dropbox，因?yàn)樗?dāng)時(shí)使用的是后來的Google Drive,。他對(duì)Dropbox創(chuàng)始人說：“谷歌會(huì)摧毀你們的,。”

投資機(jī)會(huì)：eBay

錯(cuò)過者：柏尚投資

Chris Sacca: He passed on Dropbox because he was already using what would later become Google Drive, and he told the founders “Google would crush them.”

eBay

柏尚投資的大衛(wèi)·考恩對(duì)eBay怎么看,？他說：“郵票,？錢幣？漫畫書,？你在開玩笑吧,。這還用想嗎？拒絕投資,?！?/p>

投資機(jī)會(huì)：Facebook

錯(cuò)過者：柏尚投資

Bessemer Venture Partners: BVP’s David Cowan’s thoughts on eBay? “Stamps? Coins? Comic books? You’ve GOT to be kidding,” he said. “No-brainer pass.”

Facebook

Facebook聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人愛德華多·薩維林曾在柏尚投資的寓所堵著杰瑞米·勒凡，拼命游說,，而勒凡回應(yīng)道：“孩子,，你沒聽過Friendster嗎？走開,，結(jié)束了！”

投資機(jī)會(huì)：聯(lián)邦快遞

錯(cuò)過者：柏尚投資

Bessemer Venture Partners: After Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin cornered BVP’s Jeremy Levine at a corporate retreat with his pitch, Levine responded with “Kid, haven’t you heard of Friendster? Move on. It’s over!”

FedEx

這家公司共拒絕了聯(lián)邦快遞7次之多,。

投資機(jī)會(huì)：谷歌

錯(cuò)過者：柏尚投資

Bessemer Venture Partners: The firm passed on FedExseven times.

Google

大衛(wèi)·考恩的大學(xué)朋友把自己的車庫(kù)租給了谷歌聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人,，讓他們度過創(chuàng)立的第一年。當(dāng)她試圖把這些人介紹給考恩時(shí)，考恩對(duì)這個(gè)由學(xué)生創(chuàng)立的搜索引擎并不感冒,。他說：“我怎么才能走出這個(gè)房子,，而不去靠近你的車庫(kù)？”

投資機(jī)會(huì)：GoPro

錯(cuò)過者：克里斯·薩卡

Bessemer Venture Partners: David Cowan’s college friend rented her garage to Google’s co-founders for their first year. When she tried to introduce them to Cowan, he wasn’t too thrilled about a student-founded search engine. He responded with, “How can I get out of this house without going anywhere near your garage?”

GoPro

薩卡聽了尼克·伍德曼的游說之后,，迅速拒絕了他,。他表示，“GoPro無法與中國(guó)大陸,、臺(tái)灣和韓國(guó)的廠商競(jìng)爭(zhēng)”,。

投資機(jī)會(huì)：Pinterest

錯(cuò)過者：克里斯·薩卡，凱文·羅斯

Chris Sacca: After Sacca heard Nick Woodman’s GoPro pitch, he quickly dismissed it by saying there was “no way GoPro could compete with China/Taiwan/Korea.”

Pinterest

克里斯·薩卡：在收到Pinterest的創(chuàng)始人本·希伯爾曼的“完美郵件”之后,，薩卡出手了,。但那是在兩年以后。

凱文·羅斯：在本·希伯爾曼給羅斯展示Pinterest平臺(tái)時(shí),，他以500萬美元的估值,，給了羅斯一個(gè)天使投資的機(jī)會(huì)。羅斯說：“當(dāng)時(shí)我覺得,，啊,，這個(gè)價(jià)格可真高?！?/p>

投資機(jī)會(huì)：貝寶

錯(cuò)過者：柏尚投資

Chris Sacca: After getting the “perfect email” from Pinterest founder Ben Silbermann, Sacca followed up … two years later.

Kevin Rose: After Ben Silbermann showed Rose the platform, he offered him an angel investment opportunity in Pinterest at a $5 million valuation. Rose said, “At the time I thought, wow, that’s really high.”

PayPal

大衛(wèi)·考恩在貝寶的A輪融資中拒絕了他們,，因?yàn)樨悓毜膱F(tuán)隊(duì)沒有經(jīng)驗(yàn)，還有可能遭遇“監(jiān)管噩夢(mèng)”,。

投資機(jī)會(huì)：Salesforce

錯(cuò)過者：羅恩·康韋

Bessemer Venture Partners: David Cowan passed on PayPal’s Series A round because of its rookie team and the potential for a “regulatory nightmare.”

Salesforce

羅恩·康韋：這位風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資家放棄Salesforce的原因在于“當(dāng)時(shí)3000萬美元的估值顯得太高了”,！

投資機(jī)會(huì)：Snapchat

錯(cuò)過者：克里斯·薩卡，喬什·埃爾曼

Ron Conway: The VC passed on Salesforce because “the $30 million valuation seemed too high at the time!”

Snapchat

克里斯·薩卡：他拒絕與Snapchat創(chuàng)始人會(huì)面,，因?yàn)椤安淮_定它是否會(huì)演變成一個(gè)傳播黃色圖片的平臺(tái)”,。

喬什·埃爾曼：當(dāng)被問到哪家是他放棄的最大的初創(chuàng)公司，為什么放棄時(shí),，Greylock Partners的喬什·埃爾曼表示：“是Snapchat,。我當(dāng)時(shí)寫下了放棄的理由，但是那個(gè)理由已經(jīng)不存在了,?！?/p>

投資機(jī)會(huì)：星巴克

錯(cuò)過者：OVP Venture Partners

Chris Sacca: He passed on an invitation to meet with Snapchat’s founders because he “wasn’t sure it would evolve past dick pics.”

Josh Elman: When asked about the biggest startup he passed on and why, Greylock Partners’ Josh Elman said, “Snapchat. I just wrote the answer of why, but it already disappeared.”

Starbucks

OVP Venture Partners：當(dāng)霍華德·舒爾茨在20世紀(jì)80年代末走進(jìn)OVP的辦公室，闡述他一杯咖啡2美元（當(dāng)時(shí)一杯咖啡只需要25美分）的想法時(shí),，風(fēng)投合伙人的表現(xiàn)如下：“當(dāng)然,，很有禮貌地聽完了他的話，但當(dāng)他離開時(shí),，都笑得摔下了椅子,?！?/p>

投資機(jī)會(huì)：特斯拉

錯(cuò)過者：OVP Venture Partners

OVP Venture Partners: When Howard Shultz walked into the OVP office in the late 1980s with his idea to charge $2 for coffee (when you could buy it for 25 cents at the time), the partners had the following reaction: “Of course, you listen politely, and then fall off your chair laughing when he leaves.”

Tesla

柏尚投資：拜倫·迪特給特斯拉預(yù)付了一筆購(gòu)車定金，但還是放棄了投資這家利潤(rùn)為負(fù)的公司的機(jī)會(huì),。他說：“這是一個(gè)雙贏選擇,。我能獲得一輛好車，讓其他風(fēng)投公司來為它付錢吧,?！?/p>

投資機(jī)會(huì)：優(yōu)步

錯(cuò)過者：本·勒雷，約翰·格雷特豪斯

Bessemer Venture Partners: Byron Deeter put a deposit down on a Tesla but passed on the negative margin company saying, “It’s a win-win. I get a great car and some other VC pays for it!”

Uber

本·勒雷：盡管勒雷風(fēng)投（Lerer Ventures）的本·勒雷從未正式拒絕過優(yōu)步,，但他也沒有去努力追求這個(gè)機(jī)會(huì),。他說：“我放棄的原因在于，我不相信自己的直覺,。我腦子里想的盡是不做這筆交易的理由,，而不是單純信任我的本能?！?/p>

約翰·格雷特豪斯：這位風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資家不愿參與優(yōu)步的種子期融資,，并拒絕傾聽優(yōu)步創(chuàng)始人特拉維斯·卡蘭尼克的游說。他表示：“我對(duì)親愛的妻子說：下次如果有朋友帶著億萬美元的機(jī)遇來找我,，我會(huì)聽的,。我保證?！保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：嚴(yán)匡正

審校：任文科

Ben Lerer: Though Ben Lerer of Lerer Ventures never formally passed on Uber, he didn’t pursue the opportunity when he should have. “I passed because I didn’t trust my gut,” he says. “I thought of reasons why not to do a deal rather than just trusting my intuition.”

John Greathouse: The VC passed on Uber’s seed round and refused to listen to founder Travis Kalanick’s pitch. “Note to my loving wife: The next time a friend knocks me over the head with a billion-dollar opportunity, I’m going to listen. Promise,” he says.