PandoDaily is all about transparency—while rival startup rag TechCrunch takes a more literary angle with its industry cuddling, Silicon Valley bully Sarah Lacy wants to be clear that she's in the business of tech PR. And finally, she's getting the thanks she deserves.

Late last week, one of Pando's writers wrote something critical about venture capital firms, arguing that traditional entities—such as those that gave PandoDaily money—will eventually be obsolete. Sure, maybe! Soon after, Lacy "responded" to the article: "A rare defense of venture capital classic"

This is of course worth a giggle because PandoDaily, in aggregate, is one slimy, eternal defense of venture capital. But Lacy wanted the party line to be clear:

You know what works in venture capital? A group of incredibly smart, connected people who have the financial wherewithal and risk appetite to make multi-million dollar bets on unproven ideas and inexperienced founders. People who can make decisions quickly, and who spend their time trying to help entrepreneurs make the most of that cash.

That’s it. I don’t care what decade we are in or what wave of technology we are talking about. That’s it.

That's it. That's why we're here: to stay nice with the "A group of incredibly smart, connected people who have the financial wherewithal." The gambit paid off: Sarah's investors smiled and tweeted in approval, glad that their mouthpiece investment keeps squawking on command.

You can't even call it a conflict of interest when the interests are identical.

Photo: Denis De Marney/Hulton