I went to see Accel last week. I mentioned this to a friend in another top 10 fund that evening when I met in a pub.
“Struggling at the moment. Really need some exits as they have a lot of money deployed.”
The world of venture capital seems filled with such knowing commentaries as relatively opaque funds jostle with one another to be number one without any real data to measure their relative succeses. And then Accel exit from Admob ($750 million to Google) and PlayFish (up to $400 million to EA). And now Accel are doing great. And that same nameless commentator was one of the first to congratulate them. Funny old world.
On a separate note, congratulations to all at Admob and Playfish. We have had the pleasure of hosting both Kristian Segerstrale and Russell Buckley at BLN events in the past year and they are both extraordinarily inspirational people.
On a personal note, I have known Russell for quite a few years now and I am so delighted for him. He is living proof that you don’t have to be a nasty, conniving, backstabbing mother f to be successful. He is one of the nicest, kindest, most thoughtful guys around. This really could not have happened to a nicer person. Congratulations.