Mike Maples, my guest on Ask a VC this week, is known for backing some of the best Web 2.0 entrepreneurs early on and hunting down “Thunder Lizards” or the 15 truly disruptive companies that hatch each year. But some of his most celebrated investments have turned controversial. In this video he defends Digg’s honor against some tough reader questions and defends Chegg’s co-founder and chairman Osman Rashid’s decision to get into hardware. For non-haters, he answers some general questions on why he doesn’t back more middle-aged entrepreneurs and how much of a stake he needs to do a deal.
Enjoy! And check out our earlier interview with Maples and his three companies that got away here.