Do investors with no startup experience suck?

So – let’s be honest – do investors with no startup experience suck? That debate flared up recently on Tech in Asia, where a user caused controversy by saying that VCs without any practical experience as an entrepreneur could be more of a hindrance than a help to a fledgling tech business.

To set that straight, we invited two well-known VCs onstage at Tech in Asia Singapore 2015 earlier this month – 500 Startups’ Khailee Ng, who has several startups under his belt, and Rakuten Ventures’ Saemin Ahn, whose tech pedigree doesn’t include a startup of his own – to thrash out this topic.

To kick off the debate, Ng admitted there’s an “intellectual honesty” to saying non-founder VCs suck, but it’s a view that’s biased – like someone saying that all men suck because of a bad experience with one boyfriend. Keen to avoid sweeping generalizations, Ng says that, as a startup founder, you “can’t hate on people” – you need to see what good things they can do.

@khailee of @500Startups on finding the right VC – “Don’t hate on people’s weaknesses. Find out what’s magical about them.” #tiasg2015

— Charlotte Chen (@wunderlotte) May 6, 2015

Did @khailee of @500Startups just quoted Taylor Swift? #HatersGonnaHate #Shakeitoff #tiasg2015 pic.twitter.com/z4FipsGgzq

— Spottly (@spottly) May 6, 2015

Advice aplenty