Chewin in the Chung

I admire people who can admit and laugh at their own mistakes. So I'm obviously impressed with this Bessemer Venture Partners anti-portfolio.

Our reasons for passing on these investments varied. In some cases, we were making a conscious act of generosity to another, younger venture firm, down on their luck, who we felt could really use a billion dollars in gains. In other cases, our partners had already run out of spaces on the year's Schedule D and feared that another entry would require them to attach a separate sheet.

I like to think I'm pretty good at owning up to my blunders, but if I had actively avoided the chance to fund Google at its startup, I don't think I'd tell anybody.