Thought Leadership Threads

I was listening to the 20 Minute VC podcast w/@davidtisch as a guest. He threw out an important concept that most Founders don’t think about enough: “Is My Company A Top Half Performer?” This is a critical concept that’s worth unpacking: 👇👇👇

Most #startups need years of growth before they turn profitable. Some consume LOTS of cash. As a result, I suggest every Investor and Founder obsess about COM3 --- Cash Out Minus 3 Months. This might be the most important metric to care about.

A few thoughts on COM3:

Many people have asked why #Banks can’t just copy #Fintech functionality and then crush them with their scale and advantaged funding and regulatory apparatus. It’s because they’re in the “functional relief” business vs. the “magical transcendence” business. Unpacked:

One business model I talk about frequently with Founders is underbuilding their software as a strategy.

It’s a really powerful concept that can help a product stand out in a crowded market and turbo-charge growth. Unpacked 👇:

It’s hard to produce a 3X+ #VC fund. It’s much harder to do this consistently. Our first 4 funds are mature enough to know where they’ll end up and all of them will handily beat this benchmark. I reviewed our portfolio this morning and jotted down 12 notes. Shared:

One #startup trap to avoid (founders and VCs) is to fall in love with a value prop that can’t be delivered IRL now. Good diligence will surface disconnects but they’re often brushed under the rug by #VCs who believe fixing delivery over time will be fine. Unpacked:

VCs hear thousands of pitches in their careers but only say “yes” a few dozen times. Getting their attention in the initial pitch meeting is important because you won’t get a second meeting without the first going well. Here are 10 tips to help your pitch game:

‍

The biggest question coming out of my recent tweet thread about the evaluation of startups is: “How important is the startup’s distribution strategy in your diligence work?” The answer is: “Damn important because the business needs customers to exist!” Unpacked: