THAT SCHMUCKY FEELING: Allen Morgan, long-time VC now with Idealab, shares his thoughts about a classic funding-raising mistake that too many entrepreneurs make: trying to raise money with a big milestone just on the horizon. A big directional change looks just too dang uncertain to VCs, Morgan contends, even if it promises to unlock new opportunities. Money quote: Worries about making the wrong bet "...makes venture capitalists more conservative, and causes them to avoid situations that, if they turn out wrongly, provide ammunition for their competitors and colleagues to think of them as 'schmucks.'"
