--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the venture industry started, it was…" description: "\"When the venture industry started, it was enough to just have money and then it was enough to sort of have this big fuzzy brand. But now startups are g..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/naval-ravikant-11450_big_when-the-venture-industry-started-it-was_1475102.jpg" --- # When the venture industry started, it was enough to just… ![“When the venture industry started, it was enough to just have money and then it was enough to sort of have this big fuzzy brand. But now startups are getting a lot smarter.” quote by Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/naval-ravikant-11450_big_when-the-venture-industry-started-it-was_1475102.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/naval-ravikant-11450_big_when-the-venture-industry-started-it-was_1475102.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/naval-ravikant-11450_big_when-the-venture-industry-started-it-was_1475102.jpg) > “When the venture industry started, it was enough to just have money and then it was enough to sort of have this big fuzzy brand. But now startups are getting a lot smarter.” [Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Startup success now demands intelligence and strategic branding, not just capital. **In simple terms:** Startups need smarts, not just money. Key Takeaway Focus on building smart, differentiated brands. Themes entrepreneurship branding intelligence Mood inspirational pragmatic Type advice observational When to use this quote - early-stage ventures - growth hacking - strategic planning Key Concepts product development market positioning fundraising Questions to Reflect On - How can startups balance branding and product? - What metrics indicate smart growth? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on branding can neglect product quality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Entrepreneurship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entrepreneurship/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Startups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/startups/) ## Related quotes > [The most important thing in startups is getting a product to market, as imperfect as it may be, and then iterating on it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-minshew/the-most-important-thing-in-startups-is-getting-a-product-to-market/) [Kathryn Minshew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-minshew/) > [“...a long-term reputation is only at risk when companies engage in vocal launch activities such as PR and building hype. When a product fails…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-ries/a-long-term-reputation-is-only-at-risk-when-companies-engage-in-vocal/) [Eric Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-ries/) > [Kauffman Fellows is not necessarily for people just entering the venture industry but for experienced VCs looking to accelerate their growth. The program is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-feld/kauffman-fellows-is-not-necessarily-for-people-just-entering-the/) [Brad Feld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-feld/) > [The venture industry is both quite vibrant and quite competitive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-leone/the-venture-industry-is-both-quite-vibrant-and-quite-competitive/) [Douglas Leone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-leone/) > [The best talent in the venture industry doesn't work in large companies and won't work in large companies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-wilson/the-best-talent-in-the-venture-industry-doesn-t-work-in-large/) [Fred Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-wilson/) > [I don't really care what the venture industry thinks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jurvetson/i-don-t-really-care-what-the-venture-industry-thinks/) [Steve Jurvetson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jurvetson/) > [“When you were making excuses someone else was making enterprise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/when-you-were-making-excuses-someone-else-was-making-enterprise/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [It's hard to tell with these Internet startups if they're really interested in building companies or if they're just interested in the money. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/it-s-hard-to-tell-with-these-internet-startups-if-they-re-really/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“Zen is not some fancy, special art of living. Our teaching is just to live, always in reality, in its exact sense. To make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/zen-is-not-some-fancy-special-art-of-living-our-teaching-is-just-to/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [My attitude is there are at least hundreds of interesting startups that are going to get going in every year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cohen/my-attitude-is-there-are-at-least-hundreds-of-interesting-startups/) [David Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cohen/) > [The thing that kills startups at some level, is the founders giving up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/the-thing-that-kills-startups-at-some-level-is-the-founders-giving-up/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [Cool innovation might happen in startups, but they often lack the resources or the deep expertise in the problems they want to address.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/cool-innovation-might-happen-in-startups-but-they-often-lack-the/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [One thing I tell startups all the time is that the best way to grow is to make their product better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/one-thing-i-tell-startups-all-the-time-is-that-the-best-way-to-grow/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [“Amidst all the hype and hoopla around this business, I wanted to emphasize the challenge—it is seductive but the failure rate is very high.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahendra-ramsinghani/amidst-all-the-hype-and-hoopla-around-this-business-i-wanted-to/) Mahendra Ramsinghani > [Most startups are not just built for the person who is using them. When you do that, every now and then you get really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmett-shear/most-startups-are-not-just-built-for-the-person-who-is-using-them/) [Emmett Shear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmett-shear/) ## More by Naval Ravikant > [Entrepreneurship is really hard and painful - I'm not sure I'd recommend it for anyone who can't handle the extreme stress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naval-ravikant/entrepreneurship-is-really-hard-and-painful-i-m-not-sure-i-d/) [Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) > [“A fit body, a calm mind, a house full of love. These things cannot be bought — they must be earned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naval-ravikant/a-fit-body-a-calm-mind-a-house-full-of-love-these-things-cannot-be/) [Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) > [“Competing without software is like competing without electricity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naval-ravikant/competing-without-software-is-like-competing-without-electricity/) [Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) > [Nation states that are used to imposing capital controls will face a quandary: ban cryptocurrencies and live in the technology dustbin; enable them, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naval-ravikant/nation-states-that-are-used-to-imposing-capital-controls-will-face-a/) [Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) > [Cryptocurrencies are an emergent property of the Internet - almost a fifth protocol in the Internet suite. If Satoshi Nakomoto did not exist, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naval-ravikant/cryptocurrencies-are-an-emergent-property-of-the-internet-almost-a/) [Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) > [Our model is very, very different to LinkedIn. We only deal with very small companies. We don't have any support for recruiters. In fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naval-ravikant/our-model-is-very-very-different-to-linkedin-we-only-deal-with-very/) [Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) > [I don't like having managers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naval-ravikant/i-don-t-like-having-managers/) [Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) > [I think almost everything about humans and human civilization is explained better by evolution than anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naval-ravikant/i-think-almost-everything-about-humans-and-human-civilization-is/) [Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) > [One philosophy I have at AngelList is I would rather have someone working on the wrong thing and do it their way and be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naval-ravikant/one-philosophy-i-have-at-angellist-is-i-would-rather-have-someone/) [Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) > [“I don't actually read a lot of books. I pick up a lot of books and only get through a few, which form the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naval-ravikant/i-don-t-actually-read-a-lot-of-books-i-pick-up-a-lot-of-books-and/) [Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) > [Getting in the middle of financial transactions is a regulatory minefield.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naval-ravikant/getting-in-the-middle-of-financial-transactions-is-a-regulatory/) [Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) > [In an ideal world, you raise a lot of money and then there is a downturn, before you start investing so you get better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naval-ravikant/in-an-ideal-world-you-raise-a-lot-of-money-and-then-there-is-a/) [Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) > [If you go to a venture firm, what you're doing is you're buying money from them in exchange for equity. They have a commodity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naval-ravikant/if-you-go-to-a-venture-firm-what-you-re-doing-is-you-re-buying-money/) [Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) > [Startups often want to control the timing of their financing announcement and prefer not to reveal amounts raised for competitive reasons. If more of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naval-ravikant/startups-often-want-to-control-the-timing-of-their-financing/) [Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) > [We are seeing a lot of cases where the startups are writing the term sheet, dictating the terms, selling common stock instead of preferred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naval-ravikant/we-are-seeing-a-lot-of-cases-where-the-startups-are-writing-the-term/) [Naval Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) [Explore all 60 Naval Ravikant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naval-ravikant/) ## More Big quotes > [I'm a true believer in prayer, a big believer in prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-m-a-true-believer-in-prayer-a-big-believer-in-prayer/) [Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [My mom had very low expectations for me, and she really had a point. 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But that's also a big part of why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/my-parents-are-divorced-and-seeing-that-was-really-painful-for-me/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) > [I always want to do a big finale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-yuh-nelson/i-always-want-to-do-a-big-finale/) [Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-yuh-nelson/) > [I turn a lot of stuff down - big, big movies, the kind I wouldn't want to go to the cinema to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-turn-a-lot-of-stuff-down-big-big-movies-the-kind-i-wouldn-t-want-to/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [So I concentrated on the rhythmic side of things, and therefore left a lot of holes. I didn't want to use big pad chords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/midge-ure/so-i-concentrated-on-the-rhythmic-side-of-things-and-therefore-left-a/) [Midge Ure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/midge-ure/) > [I think a big part of success in football is mental, not physical. How you are inside your head matters more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iker-casillas/i-think-a-big-part-of-success-in-football-is-mental-not-physical-how/) [Iker Casillas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iker-casillas/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Making sure that people have access to preventive medicine for the first time ever as a nation? 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