Alllllrighty Then! Family Offices Snatching Up Startups Like They're Dolphins at a Tuna Convention!

Family Offices: Shikkaaa! They're Everywhere!

Greetings Earthlings! Ace Ventura Pet Detective (and now apparently a financial analyst...who knew?) here reporting live from the concrete jungle where the greenbacks grow! Seems like family offices – those secretive squirrel nests of the super rich – are multiplying faster than rabbits at a Carrot Top convention. And guess what? They're horning in on the venture capital game! Can you feel it? I can feel it! They're smellin' what the Rock is cookin'!

Adelman Says: "We're There For the Long Haul!"

This Adelman fella a big cheese in the family office world with his Darco Capital (sounds like a villain from a James Bond flick doesn't it?) says family offices are the bee's knees when it comes to startups. They've got more business brains and pockets deeper than the Mariana Trench. Apparently unlike those fickle venture capital vultures family offices stick around even when the economic weather turns sour. "Alllllrighty then!" That sounds like a darn good deal to me!

No Putting the Screws To Me!

Adelman recounts how during the great toilet paper panic of 2020 his Darco Capital extended lifelines to portfolio companies when others ran for the hills. He understands the ups and downs of the entrepreneurial rollercoaster and as he says "I've been there you know. I've had some really [tough] times in my career. And if I had somebody putting the screws to me it could have made things worse."

Money Losing Prospect or Not?

Now before you go hocking your dentures to invest in your neighbor's ferret grooming business Adelman warns against reckless investments. Apparently blindly throwing cash at your buddy's harebrained scheme isn't the smartest move. (Who knew?). That's why he started Darco – to bring some method to the madness and actually you know *evaluate* these startups. "Do NOT go in there!" Unless of course you've got a team of highly trained pet detectives to sniff out the good deals from the skunk eggs.

I Bet On Jockeys Not Horses!

Adelman also says that when making an investment decision he focuses on the people behind the business more than the business itself! To be clear a lot of our [investments] are going to fail. Especially since we're early stage. But we ask 'Are they honest or the ethical? Are their values in line with ours?'"

Rent or Buy? That Is the Question!

Finally Adelman gives some advice for other entrepreneurs and families. He suggests the wealthy entrepreneurs and families should first ask themselves the hard question of whether they really need one. "There are a lot of great firms out there multifamily offices and companies that can provide the majority of services that you may need as a family," he said. "You can outsource it and still have a great outcome. I'm always of the notion that it's better to rent than to buy."