Today marks the end of my one-hundred-fourteenth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week one hundred fourteen:

• Probabilities – I learned a valuable lesson in probabilities this week. I ignored the >50% probability of something happening, and I paid for it.  
• Serendipity – I met some great folks unexpectedly. One of them is a successful investor with roots in my hometown. I think there’s something to be said for increasing your odds of serendipity by hustling.
• Short week – I enjoyed my holiday on Monday, but it made for a short week. It made me a feel as though I was a bit unproductive, even though I know better.

Week one hundred fourteen was busy. I’m looking forward to a normal pace next week.

Today marks the end of my one-hundred-thirteenth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week one hundred thirteen:

• Networks – I’ve been thinking about networks in VC. I shared some of my thoughts in yesterday’s post. Changing how we think about networks and incentivizing venture investors to build broader networks to meet founders where they already are could have a huge entrepreneurial impact. How exactly to do that is the question.
• High-velocity hustler- Velocity matters more than speed. Being a high-velocity hustler is a great founder attribute. These folks are shaking trees to see what falls but picking up only the things that align with the destination they have in mind. Hustlers are flexible and can adapt to what’s thrown at them, and the good ones don’t waste time on shiny things. They stay focused on the goal.
• Holiday – I always think of Memorial Day as the start of my summer. I’m looking forward to the holiday weekend and an uninhibited summer.

Week one hundred thirteen brought me several insights. I’m looking forward to the holiday downtime.  

Today marks the end of my one-hundred-twelfth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week one hundred twelve:

• Retreat – I attended retreats with other founders for years. I haven’t been able to do that regularly since 2019, and I’ve missed those trips. This week, I attended one and really enjoyed it. The opportunity to have a change of scenery, do activities I otherwise wouldn’t, and think deeply with smart people was amazing.  
• Learning – Spent a good bit of time thinking about the impact of accelerated learning. I devote time to learning now, but I want to supercharge that over the next decade. I’m thinking about ways to execute on that goal.    

Week one hundred twelve was a good week. Good times with great people. I’m ready to get back to it next week.

I had a great conversation with an entrepreneurial buddy yesterday. He built and sold his company and has opinions on business. We discussed knowledge gaps and how they affect people’s trajectories. If you don’t know how a space works, it’s hard to excel in it compared to others who do have that knowledge. For example, it’d be hard for me to be a great restaurateur because I know nothing about restaurants. I might have the necessary abilities, but that knowledge gap hinders me until it’s filled.

As we chatted about our journeys, we zeroed in on a trait we share. Throughout our journeys, we both prioritized learning. We realized we were behind (something I was embarrassed about), so we supercharged acquiring knowledge to fill the gaps. We read tons of books, went to seminars, sought out more experienced founders we could learn from, and did a host of other things.

As we expounded on this, we noted that our other successful founder friends had filled their gaps and ultimately accelerated their success by increasing the rate at which they learned. My buddy framed it well: the biggest throttle on your success is how fast you can improve yourself. Said differently, the faster you improve (and learn), the more successful you can become.

Warren Buffet reads 500 pages every day and is one of the most successful investors of all time. Not only did he fill any gaps he had by turbocharging his learning, that knowledge compounded over time and led him to outsize success. He left his peers in the dust.  

Having knowledge gaps isn’t a great starting position, but they don’t mean you can’t be successful. If you want to make up for that disadvantage, improve the rate at which you acquire knowledge and how consistently you do so. It’s something you have complete control over, and anyone can do it. Stick with it long enough and you’ll not only make up ground on your peers, you’ll leave them in the dust.

Today marks the end of my one-hundred-eleventh week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week one hundred eleven:

• Atlanta – Lots of people in various circles I’m part of who don’t live in Atlanta are noticing what the city has to offer. Not just in tech and start-ups, but in other aspects of life. I’m not surprised, but it still feels good.
• Seeds – Seeds I planted years ago began to bear fruit this week. This has happened many times before, but I’m still surprised, as it’s unexpected. It reinforces that doing good can lead to something good (even though that’s not the motive).  
• Attitude change – Last week I noticed a shift in people’s attitude toward investing. This week, the stock market continued to be a topic of conversation with investors and founders and in friend circles. I’m continuing to monitor this. Feels like sentiment is changing.  

Week one hundred eleven was another high-activity week. Next week will be a little slower.

Today marks the end of my one-hundred-tenth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week one hundred ten:

• Attitude change – I noticed a shift in people’s attitude toward investing this week. The stock market was a topic of conversation with a lot of people, which felt odd. When I talked to other investors it came up, and that wasn’t surprising, but it also came up during a few founder calls and in my friend group, which I didn’t expect. I’m curious to see what people’s attitude toward investing will look like going forward.
• Hustling – I spent this week doing a bit of strategic hustling. It’s always interesting to see how hustling can open doors that you’d never have expected.
• Labor – A friend broke down the current state of the labor market based on his hiring challenges. People think differently about how, when, and where to work. It feels like we’re in the midst of a seismic shift.

Week one hundred ten was a high-activity week. I expect next week to be more of the same.

Today marks the end of my one-hundred-ninth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week one hundred nine:

• Focus – This week, I was intentional about carving out time to focus, and it served me well. I was able to move the needle on some important projects and have conversations about my progress with the right people.
• Multiples – I spent time working with some well-capitalized companies this week. They raised at high multiples (in historical terms) in the last year or so. Now they’re trying to figure out how to achieve the growth targets they agreed to when they raised those rounds. They’re facing some difficult decisions. I suspect more companies are in this situation. Should be interesting to see how it plays out.

Week one hundred nine was a week of focus and much activity. Looking forward to repeating that mix next week.

I was catching up with friends yesterday. One of my buddies I haven’t seen in a few years was there. We’ve known each other since childhood, and we both migrated to Atlanta after graduation. We were catching up on life and how we navigated the pandemic when he casually mentioned that he reads my blog and finds its content helpful. There were other people around, and that remark sparked a great conversation about the power of knowledge, proximity to success, and the impact that mindset has on the ability to accomplish something great. Most of the people involved in the conversation aren’t entrepreneurs (yet), but they were engaged and had lots to offer from their perspectives.

I rarely talk about work and haven’t discussed my blog (for better or worse) with childhood friends, so yesterday was an anomaly. The conversation was enlightening for several reasons. One was that it reminded me that there’s a desire by non-entrepreneurs for the same information and experience sharing that entrepreneurs appreciate. Lots of learnings derived from the entrepreneurial journey are helpful for non-entrepreneurs too (e.g., the value of self-awareness).

I rarely hear from people outside tech or entrepreneurship about my posts. The conversation was motivation not only to keep writing but also to consider other ways to share my experiences with non-entrepreneurs.

Today marks the end of my one-hundred-seventh week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week one hundred seven:

• Circle – The people you surround yourself with have a big impact on your trajectory. I’ve got great people around me, and I’m excited about what’s in store.
• Vacation – Had some downtime this past week. It was great to unplug, unwind, and reflect. I’m looking forward to going into next week recharged.
• Intuition – This week was a reminder that intuition is helpful in decision-making.

Week one hundred seven was relaxed. I feel great, and I’m looking forward to next week.

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I shared a story with someone about facing a big decision. Each choice had pros and cons, but I felt confident about a particular direction. It took a number of years to play out, but the decision proved to be the correct one. When my friend asked why I made that decision, I said I trusted my gut. I couldn’t articulate my reasoning beyond that, which seemed odd to my friend.

There’s power in gut instinct. But like any skill, practice is needed to improve it and be confident of your ability to use it. I’m not saying everyone should make decisions using their gut, but I believe that more often than not, people have intuition about what they should do but ignore it. I’ve found that my gut instinct is accurate most of the time.

Nowadays, when I need to make a decision, I ask myself at the outset what my gut is telling me and make sure I’m clear on that before I start looking at data or analyzing the situation more. Once I’ve concluded what I should do based on the data, I compare that to what my intuition is telling me. It’s an interesting exercise that continues to help me lean more on intuitive decision-making in certain situations.