How GV handles the unsexy part of growing startups

I first met Rick Klau and Ken Norton several years ago when they were running a program called Startup Lab — on behalf of Google Ventures (now GV) — a venture capital firm along the lines of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Greylock, Andreessen Horowitz, and Sequoia Capital. At the time, the two worked to mentor the investment firm’s portfolio companies, offering advice on everything from design to product management, along with resources to grow the startups.
As GV has ev