Gossip and the inside dope are hard to resist—especially when they pertain to people who might hold your company’s fate in the palm of their hands. So, when you think about it, it was only a matter of time before the controversial website TheFunded opened up its venture capitalist ratings to more widespread view. The site, which has provoked a range of reactions from investors (see for example this post by venture capitalist and Xconomist Daphne Zohar and the comments that follow), was already well known for publishing entrepreneurs’ ratings of venture firms. But what you might not have known is that individual VCs were also scored. Those ratings were just kept behind the scenes, for members-only viewing. (You cannot be a member if you’re associated with a venture firm, and only members are allowed to give scores or comments.)
That all changed as of yesterday, when TheFunded opened its individual VC scores to public view, alongside its fund ratings. Investors are scored on a scale of 1 to 5, with the higher the number the better.
According to its website, TheFunded now contains profiles of some 3,700 funds and 17,000 venture partners, associates, and others. But not many folks who have received more than one or two votes average over 4, from what I can tell. So even a score in the mid-threes is pretty good. (One of the criticisms of TheFunded is that a few malcontents can totally skew the data.)
Of those receiving more than 10 votes, the highest-ranking fund based solely in New England* seems to be Spark Capital of Boston, which received a 3.5 rating. The highest-rated partner at Spark is co-founder Todd Dagres, who has pulled in a 3.8 (from four votes). The only Spark partner under a 3.0 ranking is Santo Politi, another co-founder who has garnered a 2.9 based on eight votes. Bijan Sabet, who has pushed hard to get rid of non-competes, comes in at 3.5, also based on eight votes.
The lowest ranked New England fund—again of those with 10 or more votes—is North Bridge Venture Partners, with a 2.3 (it got slammed on favorable deal terms). Individuals at the firm do pretty well, though, especially Rich D’Amore who after three votes has a perfect 5.0 score.
*Kepha Partners of Waltham, MA, doesn’t appear when I screen for East Coast funds, yet when I search on it individually it shows a 4.0 rating based on 18 votes. Kepha’s absence from the East Coast list could have something to do with the warning that appears: “TheFunded.com algorithm has detected unusual review activity with this particular fund. Readers are advised to review information presented with caution.”
