Fifteen years into my venture capital career, I’ve come to believe there are two undeniable laws of startup physics: 1) Capital compounds both positive and negative formulas. 2) All positive formulas compound at diminishing rates of return.
The next year will be challenging for startups. Promising companies will struggle. Many will fail. The only consolation is that the “era of indifferent capital” is coming to a close — may it never return.
Many “atypical” markets are surprisingly M&A friendly, but VCs may not recognize the potential buyers without guidance
As entrepreneurship has professionalized, jargon has proliferated, and platitudes pervade pitches. One helpful tool to combat this scourge of short-hand is:
🏕️ “The Summer Camp Test” ⛺️
Even for strong startups, fundraising is a marathon that requires near constant attention for 8–12 weeks. The process is punishing, and riskier than you might imagine. You need to prep for it as seriously as you would a race.
When getting ready to pitch VCs, founders often jump right into assembling a slide deck. I think this is a mistake. I’d suggest that you start by writing twenty headlines that sum up your startup, and only then build the slides.