Packy McCormick

Angles that spread usually check the following boxes:

1. Surprising — presents unexpected new information or theories


2. True — we actually believe it


3. Important — has an impact on our behavior


4. Relevant — related to domains we care about


5. Cool — we think we’ll look impressive for sharing it

To start, simply write down what unique thing you do, why it matters, and why you’re the only team who could get it done. It needs to be human (no corpo jargon), assertive (no hedging or waffling), and specific (no hand-waving abstractions).

The great story behind it is that when Mike was taking over for Don Valentine with Doug, he was sitting and looking at Sequoia’s returns. He was looking at fund three or four, I think it was four maybe that had Cisco in it. He was like, how are we ever going to top that? Don’s going to have us beat. We’re never going to beat that.

He thought about... See more