It's About Damn Time: How to Turn Being Underestimated into Your Greatest Advantage

No matter how you make a living or what your skill set is, you have to know what value you bring, place a price on your time and talent, and then accept nothing less.

YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT YOUR EXPERIENCES AND UNDERSTAND THEM FOR WHAT THEY ARE: AN EDUCATION BUILT JUST FOR YOU.

Because every time I read a book, every time I listened to a podcast, every time I went through another twenty handwritten index cards, every time I learned more about the key players, I was building my intellectual capital, my war chest of information.

Backstage Capital is part of a movement; people are interested in what we’re doing, they’re following our progress and become part of our network because we represent something larger and more important than just ourselves. Founders know that we won’t be able to invest capital in every person we meet, but we want to be real with them, we want to be

I have always felt a little bit like the odd person out in any given room. Sometimes it’s because of my race, my gender, or my sexual orientation. Other times it’s because of my thoughts on philosophy, religion, and spirituality. Or sometimes it’s because I have an odd sense of humor or because I have a “strange” way of viewing things.

venture capital is the business of risk taking.

no matter what you do for a living or where you are in your career, you deserve to walk through the door of any room you want to be in.

knew when I saw those statistics that the mythology around Silicon Valley was basically a lie, because ingenuity, hard work, hustle, grit, and innovation aren’t traits that are prevalent only in the straight White male population.

This to me means that if you’re asking people to be your mentor today and it’s not going well, repurpose that into a positive thing. Become your own mentor for a while. You can always learn more.