I’ve connected with numerous founders who have a big vision but don’t value how vital other people are to its success. They understand they’ll need help, but how they see other people is always telling. They may view others as necessary to execute specific tasks but replaceable. They treat them as an expense line item, with the compensation, equity, and responsibility they offer reflecting that mindset.

The classic example I see is a nontechnical founder building a software company. He wants to use offshore development or hire a junior developer whom he’ll manage. He thinks he needs someone to just build a product and tries to get it done as cheaply as possible. What this founder doesn’t grasp is that the software is the company. The software is a living thing that will evolve and become more complex over time. The people building it are not just an expense. They’re critical to building and maintaining a product customers will pay to use, and they should be treated as such. And there needs to be someone at the leadership level—other than the nontechnical founder—who’s responsible for this critical part of the business and incentivized by cash and equity.

When I was a founder, I learned (the hard way) that you can go further, faster with a solid team that shares in the upside.

If you’re trying to do something great, think about how you can get the best people possible around the table to help you, not how you can spend the least amount possible. That shift in mindset could be the difference maker.

Today marks the end of my eighty-fifth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week eighty-five:

• Partnership mindset – I’m a big believer in the saying that there are no perfect people, only perfect teams. This week reminded me that partnership is important to doing something great. The partnership journey isn’t always easy, so alignment early on is important. You might disagree on how to get there, but you can compromise because you know you’re both trying to get to the same place.  
• Hustle – I meet with founders and investors every week. The ones who are hustlers consistently stand out. Hustle is a big part of their success. I noticed this again this week.    
• Common threads – Wrote about this a bit this week. Finding ways to relate to people has been helpful in getting to know them. I do this naturally, but I want to be more intentional about it.
• Giving back – I was able to give back and help somebody out this week, and it felt good. I’m rooting for him and expecting him to do amazing things in life and business.

Week eighty-five was a good one. I was in a groove and made progress on important things. I hope to repeat that next week.

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I had a meeting with another investor recently. His journey to investor wasn’t easy. I love hearing stories like this. They show you how people are wired and who they really are. I wanted to hear his story so I could understand him better and see if I could be of assistance.

The call began normally and was cordial, but he wasn’t opening up. Then he mentioned a small detail that made me realize we might have experienced something similar earlier in life. So, I shared my experience. Sure enough, he said he’d had a similar one. From that point on, the conversation changed. We were able to relate and get to know one another via a common thread.

I appreciate this reminder that finding ways to relate to people is important. Doing so can completely change a conversation (or start it off on the right foot). More importantly, it can be a powerful tool in helping you build relationships and understand who people really are (as opposed to how they want to be perceived).

Over the last eighteen months, I’ve noticed a trend. More people are actively self-educating. They’re owning filling their knowledge gaps in areas that interest them. I’ve personally talked to people learning about personal finance, starting a nonprofit, building a real estate portfolio, and a host of other things. To be clear, I’m not saying self-education is new, but I’m seeing an increased comfort level with and desire for it.

I think that overall, this is a good trend. Knowledge is power, and people are seeking out the knowledge they feel they need to empower themselves. It will change some of their lives. Platforms—YouTube, Twitter, and others—give subject-matter experts a mode of distribution (and monetization) that’s readily accessible to the masses.

How people think about education is on the cusp of massive change. Instead of the masses accepting curriculums set without their input, we’ll start to see more people embracing a bespoke approach. Many people will take ownership of their educational paths earlier and zero in on things that interest them earlier. Lots of this education will be done via digital platforms that allow people to learn the latest thinking from people worldwide.

I’m excited about following this trend and think it could have broad impact.

Yesterday I connected with a founder friend who makes a point of mentoring and invests in early start-ups. His company is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, so he knows a thing or two about picking markets and what it takes to scale a solution. He shared his perspective on evaluating potential investments, which I found interesting.

He looks for companies that are solving boring, but complex, problems. The problem isn’t something the average person pays attention to, but it’s vital. And as mentioned, it’s complex: many nuances prevent someone from efficiently solving it manually. Think e‑commerce companies that sell nationwide having to collect sales taxes and remit and report them to various state and local agencies. Boring, critical to that company, and highly complex. Avalara, a company most people haven’t heard of, solves this sales tax problem. It’s publicly traded and as of today has a market capitalization (i.e., valuation) of $14 billion.

I like this investment thesis. I think it’s a good framework to use when evaluating companies. And I’m bullish on workflow management solutions, which aligns well with it.

I’m looking forward to working with my friend to help founders build big businesses that solve boring, complex problems.

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Today a founder shared his plans for his start-up. Its software product has some traction but isn’t growing quickly enough for various reasons, including timing. The founder believes the product has potential but feels he needs to pivot to work on something else for now. He wasn’t sure what to do with the product. Shut it down and it doesn’t have a chance of reaching its full potential. Keep working on it full-time and he bears an opportunity cost.

In the end, this founder decided to make the software product self-serve. Customers can do everything on their own, from signing up to canceling. The product is going on autopilot. He’ll just monitor it periodically while he pivots to build a new product. If the first product takes off, he’ll revaluate and decide whether he should step in or hire someone else to oversee it.

I didn’t much like this approach when he shared it. But as I thought about it more, I realized that I heard a similar story years ago. I was at the Mailchimp offices. One of the founders told me their origin story: a product they’d built and shelved while they worked on other things ended up becoming Mailchimp. Last week, they closed the deal to sell their “forgotten product” for $12 billion. Had they killed it instead of shelving it, their trajectory would have been very different.

The Mailchimp story is an example of the unpredictable impact of timing. Extreme, yes, but real. You never know when people will see value in what you’ve built. Sometimes it takes a little longer than you planned, and you just have to be patient and give the product time. Depending on the situation, sometimes you can work on other things while you wait for it to flower.

One of my takeaways from my founder journey was the wide impact founders have through entrepreneurship. We had a direct impact on our customers and team members, of course. But as time went on, I began to understand our indirect impact, too. For example, the impact we had on households resonated with me. The people we employed were the main breadwinners in their households, so three or four people felt the impact of every paycheck issued. And we often heard from a customer that their vehicle (which we helped keep on the road) was critical; it was their only way to get to and from work and provide for their families. All those households, in turn, had myriad impacts on the communities they were part of. I didn’t think about impact when I started the company, but through experience I learned a lot about it—at a high level, how entrepreneurship is powerful and has the potential for massive impact.

That understanding was a big factor in my decision to become an investor. I could have taken what I’d learned from my first company and started a second. I probably could have built something many times larger than my first company in far less time. But I realized I could have a bigger impact sharing my knowledge with other founders and helping accelerate their success. The impact of many successful founders dwarfs that of one. So, I’ve been focused on supporting founders by sharing knowledge and capital.

By investing, I’ve seen entrepreneurship and the impact it can have through a different lens. I’ve started viewing entrepreneurship as something that’s layered. The company and founder are one layer—the most visible one. But other layers support them. I’m now wondering: can impact through entrepreneurship be enhanced by supporting the layers that support founders?

I listened to a founder tell his story. He’s powered through some challenging times to get his company to where it is today. Only, when he told the story, it wasn’t as succinct as it could have been. Watching him reminded me of myself. I used to get asked about the specifics of my founder journey and didn’t always do a great job articulating them. I usually ended up sharing the details I happened to remember at the time.

One day, aspiring and early founders who wanted my help asked something about the early days of my journey. It had been over a decade, and the details were fuzzy. I responded, of course, but walked away feeling like I had given them a haphazard series of events. I wanted to help these founders as much as possible and felt like I had let them down. I realized I had to do better.

Deciding to do something about this, I settled on creating a timeline, year by year from the inception of my company. I focused on keeping it high level. Each year included five to seven bullets about the highs and lows. I included each year’s revenue so I could speak to the growth trajectory accurately. It took some time, and I had to do some digging, but the finished product was a great document.

I was super glad I created the timeline. I’d forgotten many details and milestones of my journey. The exercise sparked my memory and accurately captured the tale of my start-up.

A few weeks later, when I was asked to speak to a group of founders, I could clearly and confidently articulate my journey. The group asked tons of questions that I was able to answer by sharing my experiences.

I’m a big fan of the timeline exercise. I plan to update it annually.

If you’re a founder and not happy with how you’ve told your story, consider creating a timeline. The exercise might be just what you need to do justice to your story!

Today marks the end of my eighty-fourth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week eighty-four:

• Impact – I’m still thinking about this a lot (and having great conversations about it). I have some ideas for having an impact on founders and may start to test one pretty soon. Looking forward to learning.
• Directionally accurate – I’m naturally wired to have a destination in mind that I’m aiming for. Over time, I’ve learned that I can take action without a clear destination—I just need to lift my head periodically to confirm I’m still headed in the right direction. This week reinforced this.  
• World Series win – The Atlanta Braves won the World Series for the first time in over twenty years. This is a big win for the city and puts it on outsiders’ radar screens. Sports have a way of uniting people, and I’m excited to see how this win will affect Atlanta.  

Week eighty-four was positive. I was productive and reenergized. Looking forward to repeating this next week.

A few years back, I was asked to attend an event. I knew the organizer and he asked for my support. I was busy at the time and wasn’t sure I’d have the bandwidth to attend. I was on the fence until the last minute but ended up going. At the event, I met someone who’s now a good friend—and who introduced me to other people who’ve had a big impact on me.

That one event has had a lasting impact on me in ways I never would’ve imagined. It and other situations I encountered as a founder have shown me how powerful serendipity can be. Just being in the right place at the right time can make a world of difference.

The last eighteen months have made serendipitous interactions difficult. It’s hard to have random interactions when everything is scheduled via Zoom. I enjoy the efficiency of video calls, but I do miss those chance encounters.

I’m not sure what the future holds or what the future of work looks like, but I’m looking forward to a little more serendipity in 2022.