Two venture capital firms that once considered joining forces are now both in crisis. In 2015, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers -- the storied firm whose star had begun to fade -- tried to buy Social Capital, an upstart founded by former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya. The erstwhile deal might have returned some luster to Kleiner, founded in 1972. But it fell through. Since then, both firms have faltered.

Former Kleiner partner Ellen Pao sued the firm. She lost in 2015, but in the process she convinced a lot of people that Silicon Valley, and Kleiner Perkins in particular, treated women badly. John Doerr, the firm’s superstar VC, took the stand and looked out of touch. The case has had a lasting negative effect on the firm’s reputation. Meanwhile, Kleiner’s early stage investors, the core of any Silicon Valley firm, fell down on the job. They’ve missed many of the big breakout startups, particularly this batch of social media leviathans.

One bright spot at Kleiner has been its growth arm. That team invested in Uber, Snap, Spotify, Instacart, and DocuSign. Now key members Mary Meeker, Mood Rowghani and Noah Knauf are leaving to start a new firm, along with Kleiner’s well-connected recruiter Juliet de Baubigny.

Meeker and Ted Schlein, who is the firm’s defacto leader, tried to put a good face on the breakup. But make no mistake, this is an implosion. The growth team got sick of carrying the firm’s reputation and left. My colleague Lizette Chapman smartly explains the firm’s new reality -- downsizing.

Meanwhile, Social Capital had an ego-driven implosion. Much of the top talent at Social Capital has left as Palihapitiya erratically shifted strategies. The Information has a fascinating interview with him. This quote sums it up: “I would rather spend time with the people that are 100% aligned with what I want to do and the person that’s most aligned with what I want to do is me,” Palihapitiya told The Information.

What are the stakes here exactly? There’s no shortage of money flowing into venture capital right now. I don’t think the issue will be in finding limited partners. After all, Palihapitiya says he’ll just bankroll his firm with his personal fortune. Kleiner still has enough of a legacy to raise more money. The bigger concern for these firms is winning over future founders.

The problems at Social Capital aren’t likely to win over many young entrepreneurs. There are times when behaving obstinately -- I’m thinking of Vinod Khosla’s beach odyssey -- can be, if not endearing, at least differentiating to a certain breed of iconoclast founder. I’m not so sure the meltdown at Social Capital fits the bill.

Meanwhile, despite the aggressive messaging, the departure of the growth team at Kleiner -- and don’t forget biotech investor Beth Seidenberg who left separately -- is only bad news for the firm’s brand with founders.

The growth team will surely continue to do well on its own. Meeker, Rowghani and de Baubigny are well-known and respected. I’m eager to hear what they name their new firm. My colleague Lizette observed that they probably should avoid using their own names, like Kleiner Perkins and Draper Fisher Jurvetson mistake. One of your fellow founders might disappoint you, and inevitably, even if you escape infamy, you will one day be dust like the rest of us. Pick a name that will last.

Watching this VC drama unfold, it’s hard not to feel bad for Mamoon Hamid. He’s done a great job of picking up-and-coming startups like Slack and Box. But he hasn’t been as successful when it comes to deciding where to work. He fled Social Capital for Kleiner, where he was promised the keys to the kingdom. But with each passing day, that kingdom seems to be shrinking.