What we believe
Only a few things really matter…but they are critical
We believe you only have a mission-driven business when you have
a viable business
Put another way: we believe you need to know what kind of company you CAN build, and build that.
This drives everything: how much a company should raise, how much R&D it should do, how much it should focus on pipeline, and when it should exit.
Investors add value when they
actually add value
Determining if someone has added value is simple: did your business sell more stuff increasingly effectively and increasingly profitably after they got involved?
Shareholder interests are important, but for young companies, ALL stakeholders are important
Your suppliers, your customers, your bankers, your lawyers, your employees.
All of them. Working well with them will keep them working with you.
Success is driven by figuring out what matters.
Don’t spend time on your logo. Spend time on things that sell product. (You can change your logo later. You can’t ramp sales after the fact.)
Most companies will never be unicorns.
Most companies offer single point solutions and should eventually tuck up under larger platforms.
Raise the amount of capital that recognizes that fact and still generates a win.
Every time you raise a round, you should first ask yourself:
“Is it actually time to sell?”
Why? Because when you raise capital, along with the money, you also get new partners with new expectations, and you take on new operational risks.
Exiting is often smarter than taking dilution and working feverishly – and at risk – for several more years to meet the higher exits needed by your new investors.
The most expensive form of capital isn’t equity, it’s failure