Rex Salisbury: Labels are Man-Made and Will Evolve
Venture capitalist Rex Salisbury stated that VC is dead, and VC is eternal. There is much anxiety and complaint currently; stop complaining and go out to compete on the field.
He mentioned that labels are man-made and will evolve. Focus on what you believe in, and in ten years (if lucky), everyone will say, "Oh, what they were doing back then was actually obvious."
This comment comes at a time when the venture capital industry is discussing changes in the financing environment and exit models. Salisbury calls for practitioners to return to belief-driven actions rather than getting caught up in industry label definitions.
He emphasized that truly valuable work is often redefined as "obvious" in hindsight, and current controversies and anxieties should not hinder action.
The relevant viewpoint focuses on the essence of venture capital being belief and long-term execution, rather than short-term labels or emotions.
From a market mechanism perspective, such public statements reinforce venture capital's narrative support for belief-driven projects, with funding tending to favor entrepreneurial and investment teams willing to overlook short-term labels; the events are driven by ideological output, benefiting VCs and founders who adhere to long-termism, while those caught in label anxiety face relative pressure.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Rex Salisbury has long been active in the fintech and venture capital sectors, and his public comments repeatedly emphasize action over definition. This time, he juxtaposes "VC is dead" with "VC is eternal," continuing his response style to the cyclical anxieties of the industry.
On the capital path, Salisbury directs attention to belief and execution through public writing, motivated by the desire to filter participants who can ignore short-term noise, with specific actions including a direct call to stop complaining and get on the field.
Similar cases can be seen in the historical discussions of "VC is dead" during each technological or capital cycle transition, followed by the redefinition of successful paths; currently, venture capital is in a reflective phase after high valuations and exits in AI and infrastructure.
Essentially, this belongs to capital concentration: the ideological framework unifies dispersed anxieties into an action position of "focusing on belief," with the mechanism being to reduce the cost of label debate through public narrative, accelerating the concentration of capital and talent towards high belief.
ABAB News · Law of Cognition
- Labels are post-hoc explanations, not pre-existing maps.
- Those who complain are watching from the sidelines, while those who participate are changing the rules.
- The "obvious" ten years from now always starts from being misunderstood today.