Bessemer's Anti-Portfolio

Justin Hibbard

VC firm Bessemer Venture Partners has posted a web page listing several investment opportunities it has declined over the years that turned out to be smash hits. The rap sheet includes Hewlett Packard, Apple, FedEx, eBay, and Google. Kudos to Bessemer for its candor (though with only one limited partner, the Bessemer family, the firm can show its warts without worrying about raising another fund). Yes, VCs are as fallible as anyone, and in the end, their investments are simply their best educated guesses.