The market is frothy, and you are the froth
A couple years ago I met a startup that ended up getting 10+ term sheets. Sequoia, as they do, won
Remember talking to investors who - respectfully - had ZERO chance of winning that deal, short of the founder having been immaculately conceived by... See more
Leeor Mushinx.comThe market is frothy, and you are the froth A couple years ago I met a startup that ended up getting 10+ term sheets. Sequoia, as they do, won Remember talking to investors who - respectfully - had ZERO chance of winning that deal, short of the founder having been immaculately conceived by the founders of their firm So I asked: why chase something you can’t win and aren’t sure you even believe in? “That’s just what we’re told to do” Haven’t heard a peep from that company since That same week at my previous firm we invested in something with little heat. That one ended up returning ~ a fund itself in 3 years The point is not to just play the game The point is to win your game
Having raised money on both sides of the table, I think the #1 reason that startups AND fund managers struggle to raise money is they don't pitch off-the-beaten-path.
Some Fri thoughts on how to successfully raise that goes against what everyone tells you to do...
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Elizabeth Yin 💛x.comgood convo from yesterday: in the internet era, where outcomes follow power laws & outliers dominate, you have to now think like an investor even in your personal life.
if you look around today, you’ll notice most people chase consensus desires.. which are the hot jobs, the hot cities, & the hot people. this strategy... See more
signüllx.comThere are a lot of average to poor VC track records out there and bad pattern recognition/not doing the hard work is a common driver of poor performance.
When I first became an "Operator turned Investor" almost 16 years ago, I thought that making good investment decisions collapsed to an exercise in pattern recognition.... See more
fintechjunkiex.com
One of the biggest mistakes I see people make early in their careers is make decisions on the basis of "maintaining their options."
This sounds like a good idea, but is one of the most dangerous traps ambitious people fall into. You don't realize it at the time, but when you're "solving for optionality" you're playing... See more
Unfortunately there's a significant difference between what will appeal to investors and what will create a successful company. So when I'm doing office hours I often have to preface a piece of advice with which type it is.
Paul Grahamx.com