Most of the top tier investors are pretty consistent with this message. Ironically, they're also the ones who get approximately all the returns, probably as much because the best entrepreneurs would prefer to work with them vs. mediocre investors, as much as because of the direct value these investors add.

it is easier to behave properly when you have a big pile of chips in front of you. when you don't have any chips, it is tougher. that's why the best get better and the worst get worse.

Given how much people talk, you'd think that when the pile is small is when you need to be all the more careful about how you treat people if you want that to ever change...

For my part I have an mental list of both vc's I'd love to work with again, and VC's I not only will never, ever take anything from again even if it's just a free pen, and while I won't badmouth them publicly, there are certainly some I like to think I will slide just a little bit quicker into obscurity thanks to the odd situations where their name might have come up in conversation..

I generally don't design or build with outside investment in mind. Given how I've seen how bad investors make good teams crumble in short periods of time. But, I would actually consider working with people who see value in me and my team, rather than only focus on the bottom line. May you mention other investors who share this same attitude?

It's easiest at the seed stage; Y Combinator for sure, and from what I've heard, a lot of people like 500 Startups and some well-known individual angels (but differ by sector).

Probably non-existent at the PE stage.

It also varies within firms -- it's down to the individual partner -- but the overall firm matters too (or else "your" partner gets blocked on doing helpful things).

The best strategy, IMO, is to get an early investor on your side who shares a lot of the same goals (e.g. YC), and then work with the early investor to find later stage investors who are compatible.

(There's one specific firm and one specific partner I really like, but I haven't taken investment from them, so I'm reluctant to name. I get better advice from him/them already than I'd expect from an actual investor, though.)

there are many of us in VC who approach things this way. they are the ones we like to work with the most. if you look at who we work with often, you can reverse engineer the list.

Fred, I can definitely say that you and several others in the VC world deeply care about your teams and your vision for the world. I have been a part of your community @ avc.com for awhile, I started following you and Brad Feld after I met Brad when he came to Oklahoma City. Both you and he are super genuine, open, and I see time and time again how you go to bat for your entrepreneurs. I think what makes a good investor is someone who takes true ownership of an investment, and does what they can to help it succeed. You definitely fit that bill, but there are plenty of others out there as well.

My advice to everyone looking for people like Fred is to reach out to other entrepreneur's and see who has really been helpful, follow them on their blogs or twitter, and try and figure out what they are about. If you like what you see, engage them and the community of people around them. Maybe you will never get to work with them directly, but in the process most likely you will connect with other like minded individuals and will find people who are either in the same position as you or sages who have done it multiple times before. Maybe you will get lucky and find a few life long friends. And that is what makes it all worth it, isn't it?

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into the community at avc.com.

Fred is probably the most dog-fooding VC I have ever seen. Before the redesign of his blog, the site was crawling with scripts and other stuff from the companies he had invested in.

He's like the Scoble of VCs (in a good way!). :)