Quora Answer: Can Venture Capital Funds Invest in a Non-Innovative Idea?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Can venture capital funding be used to invest in a non-innovative idea?” 

Venture capital funds companies and entrepreneurs at various stages of their product or service development, specific to their mandate.  Most venture capital funds claim they fund innovation.  That is the marketing spiel.  What they are looking for is high-growth opportunities, in something that is replicable and scalable.  It does not need to be innovative.  Everything they invest in, they will claim it is innovative regardless. 

To mitigate their risk exposure, most venture capital funds hunt in packs and tend to invest in the same companies within the same industries, looking to the next unicorn.  They are just as likely as many others to be caught out and fooled sometimes.  As such, most of them succeed as a pack, or fail as one.  As long as you can demonstrate that your idea is replicable and scalable, with a viable potential exit, they will pile on you and offer you money.  You do not need to be innovative.  You just need to be the most likely to succeed.