Today I read 30 VC websites ๐ต๐ซ and, frankly, I don't know how founders navigate the VC landscape.
My advice to VCs: For the love of god, tell me where you invest and what support I should expect from you. If there is something different about how you operate, tell me that too.
— ๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ต✌๐ผ (@DEVINENASH) August 11, 2022
I just closed a deal yesterday that we lost last year!
The founder and I maintained a good relationship and I was his first call when he wanted to take on more capital.
Tech peeps that get money don’t do enough cool shit with it - social capital goes to investing in other devops startups and being an LP in their friends funds
Gotta start shifting social capital to investing in arts, culture, education, shit that’s more interesting
This is always a debate with many VCs thinking that markets can expand. Great founders can expand them. I don't believe this to be true for all markets.
Regardless, if VC thinks that the opportunity is too small for their fund size - pass.
If the market is very competitive, and the founders can't articulate a clear wedge, unique insight and why they win, then VC will not see the opportunity and will pass.
We did this, but 50% was just timing and riding the tailwinds of changes in the market that we were ahead of the curve on. The other half was expanding our product line (by talking to customers and seeing what gap we could fill for them). New customer ARPU doubled. pic.twitter.com/xYRr14Mtj1
You would have to test every channel (there are 17 and can be found in the book Traction by Weinberg) to understand the lowest CAC. If I may say, to achieve a 10x growth you would need some virality. That's only possible with Software-based products.
1. The Prophet by Khalil Gibran 2. How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie 3. The power of positive thinking by Norman Vincent 4. The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt 5. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli 6. Surely You are joking Mr. Feynman by Richard Feynman
The Count of Monte Cristo. Picked it for a book report as a kid bc the cover looked cool. Have read it 5 times. Each time it means something new to me: as a kid, a teen, a college student, a soldier, husband and father. Great life lessons, namely faith and perseverance.
— Justin Hillman ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฑ (@justinmhillman) August 17, 2022
In the West, the Bible is THE most influential book whether people are actually religious or not, this is the truth. It’s the foundational book of the Western Civalization
Not sure if there can just one book having biggest impact on my life, but this book is the most interesting book that I have read..and I enjoyed every single page... pic.twitter.com/lwzAv9kZpa
This Spoke Zarathustra. Read it the first time, didn’t get it, thought it was “alright”. Studied it deeply in a graduate course a couple years later, and I think it’s one of the most important texts written ever. I wish it was more commonly discussed.
This one helped me get my head right pretty recently, the rest is falling into place after getting that foundation in place. pic.twitter.com/QNbKY9YH1D
The Lord of the Rings. It was the summer between 5th and 6th grade and blew me away that I’d gone along on this epic journey in my mind. Uncovered the potential and power of books for me. Like many things in life, it’s not always the first but the first best.
My answer is most likely boring but it’s honest and it’s REAL: The Bible ๐คท๐พ♂️๐
Forget how spiritual it can seem, but almost every life lesson takes me back to a statement, a story, a lesson, a principle It’s such a practical guide EVEN when I’m not trying to reference it.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series bc it got me to get in bed earlier and fall asleep earlier, asleep by 10pm. Made an enormous difference in my life
Malignant Self love by Sam Vaknin. I was dating a narcissist and I had no clue what was happening. Book finally opened my eyes. Would be appropriate for Melania to read.
I went thru all the comments… it seems no one is impacted by author Gabriel Josรฉ Garcรญa Mรกrquez… My favorites of his are 100 years of solitude and love in the time of cholera. Mind bending for me
Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pirsig.
— Wilson Maravilha de Nicolau Canda (@__wmv__) August 18, 2022
The Bible. It’s all about Jesus Christ who is creator of universe, Lord, savior and king of kings. This Bible changed my life and my navigation heading to where I truly belong. No question to ask.
As economies collapse, Western loans simply won’t get repaid, and poor nations will crash out of the dollar system that props up Western lifestyles. Then, even Americans won’t be able to money-print their way out of trouble. It’s already begun. Sri Lanka has started settling loans in Indian rupees, and India is buying Russian oil in rubles. China may buy Saudi oil with yuan.
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More podcasts and content seems like a natural fit and evolution from what you’ve already been doing! I still think there’s incredible green space to build a startup content juggernaut.
Given that over $100 billion in aid has already been earmarked for Ukraine, which will be more than 50% of its GDP, doesn't anyone wonder if this money is being given to the right people in a country known for corrupt politicians? ๐งต๐
Indian Ambassador in Moscow Pawan Kapoor planted a tree in Moscow's Dream Island Park in honor of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Moscow and New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/CSZDFy0DWK
— Yulia Kapoor เฅ ASTROLOGER (@KapoorYulia) August 11, 2022
Discover the history of Google Search innovation. Explore Search Through Time today.
"You know how it goes with startups. It's a rollercoaster." "Hanging in there." "More work to do tomorrow." "I am looking for more money, do you know of any?" "I am looking to hire a __________, do you know any?" "Hanging by the nails. Just had a crazy day."
Ben Horowitz explained you must first understand how Silicon Valley is run, and that is by a very specific protocol. There are kings (notable investors), king makers/fool makers (influential media), connectors (hyper networked individuals), and actors (founders) that revolve around the deals. Silicon Valley runs on the perception of those inside those deals and those on the outside looking in. If you are not properly situated somewhere in the ecosystem, then your company will not get funded or you will not get access to a hot deal that is being funded that you would like access to as an investor. ...........
the valley is not unlike DC
......... Ben invested in my company AgLocal in 2011, I did not know him previously to pitching him, I barely knew my head from my ass as an entrepreneur, I had no track record as an entrepreneur, I was not from the valley and did not attend any Ivy or MIT so I had no network, and there was nothing inherent or obviously valuable that I could offer to Ben. However, and this is important to note, Ben looked past all of that and decided to take me on as a mentee and subsequently helped me raise a seed for my company also. ............. the networks that run silicon valley. Networks equal access to jobs, funds, and deal flow, and the networks that run silicon valley are Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Google, HP, Ebay, Facebook, Apple, and PayPal.
20 Rules for rookies raising a round Understand that it will be a pretty intense process that will require more meetings than you’d like and more emails than you’d like. This is not going to be different for anyone. Raising a round is a full time job in and of itself. ........ Raise early to spend cash on making cash. ........ When you do approach don’t ask initially for money. Ask for advice. The old adage is, ask for money you’ll get advice, ask for advice and you’ll get money. ........
Investing is social science
........ If someone doesn’t understand your business. That is your fault and not theirs. Make your deck simple, because it will likely be in front of more people than you will. You should model your deck after the simplicity of a children’s story book. Very little words, very obvious plan to win, very beautiful and enjoyable to read. It should be able to talk for you in the case that you aren’t there to explain your business. Trust me me, it will be sent around and in the race against time, can save your energy by rounding up investors for you that have seen it. ............... If an investor hasn’t committed firmly to investing if a stated criteria is met then do not go on wild goose chases and hours of homework, only to be told they need you to do more once that assignment is done. ........ If you can’t get a fast yes, get the next best thing, a fast no (this is a game of time, and attrition) .......... The worst thing you can do is spin your wheels talking to investors that don’t invest in your space, stage, or are overdrawn and can no longer do your deal. ........... Do not take a no personally. Some may find your idea to not be a fit with their ability or desire to fund but may have valuable advice and connections to share nonetheless. Some may not be valuable at all and may in fact be rude and down right dismissive. It is best to identify the difference between a good pass and a bad pass and to ignore the rude ones and engage the good ones ......... There are some that like to meet just to meet with no intention of investing and/or no cash free to invest. You do not need that waste of time. ........ you will have to meet with at least five different investors for every $100k that you raise, and this is the best case scenario. In each of my rounds that I have raised more than $1m, I ended up meeting with at least and more than 50 different investors by count, and in over 100 total meetings. ......... Look at the portfolio of the firm, the twitter and linkedin of the angel to find out if they have invested in a competitor. ......... It may very well be that they want to meet you in order to get educated for their next board meeting and to advise their company on how to outflank you or steal pieces of your model. .......... Lessen your alcohol intake, tighten your schedule to ensure proper sleep and exercise, and find healthy hobbies to take your mind off of your startup.
How to Explain Bitcoin to a No-Coiner Loved One so that you can share the magic of this revolutionary new financial system with those around you. ....... Bitcoins don’t need to be backed by gold or any other government entity in order to have value; they’re simply worth whatever people are willing to pay for them, much like stocks and bonds. This means you can exchange Bitcoins without waiting on a bank or a central bank and without paying steep transaction fees.
It only takes 5 minutes to know if a start-up has a high probability of success or not. Or the “lie to me” method. ........ He will tell you why he decided to take the step. He will tell you what motivates him. In short, his passion. And he will talk about it sincerely, using words that resonate. ...... Why the entrepreneur does what he does. From this “why” will come the culture, which, in turn, will unify the team. It is this culture that will enable the team to react and adapt to the slightest setback.
Chrome and Safari have great competition, meet the new and futuristic browser. browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox are among the internet’s most utilized and well-known browsers. ........ It makes it feel as if the webpage is an app on your Mac. ....... The sidebar in Arc is home to your tabs, spaces as well as library
While the trolls rejoiced in their echo chamber, @coinbase was quietly building Insto and Wallet products amazing enough for @BlackRock and @Meta to integrate.
Craziest part is we’re [checks notes] just getting started ๐