The ones that got away

Would you admit that you had the, um, foresight to pass on investing in Starbucks, Amazon and Blue Nile early on? The venture capitalists at OVC Venture Partners would. On their Web site, they list -- with self-deprecating humor -- five big deals that were shown the door.

The most entertaining anecdote explains why OVC passed on Starbucks way back when:

A guy walks into your office in the late 1980’s and says he wants to open a chain of retail shops selling a commodity product you can get anywhere for 25 cents, but he will charge 2 dollars. Of course, you listen politely, and then fall off your chair laughing when he leaves. Howard Shultz didn’t see this as humorous. And we didn’t make 500 times our money.

To get even (wasn’t our not making money enough?) years later, Howard opened his own venture capital firm right down the street.

In today's Insider column, OVC's Chad Waite explains why they're admitting to such past mistakes, especially against the advice of their PR guru.