This is my one-hundred-eighty-fifth weekly reflection. Here are my takeaways from this week:

• Simple business – I talked with friends about a simple business that’s performing exceptionally well. We were all surprised at how well. This was a reminder that great businesses don’t need to be overly complex. Sometimes the model can be simple and superbly executed.
• Early-stage VC – I’ve had some great conversations with early-stage VC investors the last few weeks. The consensus seems to be that early-stage entry prices are still high relative to public markets.

Week one hundred eighty-five was another week of learning. Looking forward to next week!

This is my one-hundred-eighty-fourth weekly reflection. Here are my takeaways from this week:

• Seeing the obvious – Sometimes I look at something many times. Then one day it clicks, and I see something I’d missed. Afterward, it seems so obvious that I wonder how I ever missed it. This week was a reminder that the obvious isn’t always obvious at first.
• Conviction – Having conviction in what you’re doing matters, especially when you’re doing things that are non-consensus. Doing the work to build that conviction is important.   
• Fundraising – Raising too much money too early can negatively impact a start-up. Some founders think the more money they have, the better, without thinking through the implications. I had this chat with a few founders this week.
• Investing edge – All investors need an edge to generate outsize returns. You can copy what another investor does but not generate the same returns because you don’t have the same edge. Finding the edge that’s unique to you is important—but not easy.  
• Reinventing the wheel – I want to lean more into getting exposed to great ideas and building on them instead of trying to create so many new ideas.

Week one hundred eighty-four was another week of learning. Looking forward to next week!

This is my one-hundred-eighty-third weekly reflection. Here are my takeaways from this week:

• Atlanta conferences – Venture Atlanta and A3C are going on this week. Both events brought people to Atlanta to attend. It was great to catch up with people and get a finger on the pulse of what’s happening in other geographies from people on the front lines.
• Teaching – This week, I explained an investing concept to a college friend. He was able to grasp it in a quick phone call, and he said it was beneficial—it helped him think about things differently. It felt good to help someone understand a complex concept quickly. This was a reminder that truly understanding something means being able to teach it to others.‍
• More entrepreneurs – Last week, I wrote about conversations I had with people considering becoming solopreneurs. This week, I spoke with two highly accomplished people considering leaving great organizations to pursue entrepreneurship. They don’t want to be solopreneurs, but this is another anecdotal data point about people leaving stability to pursue entrepreneurship so they can control their own destiny.‍
• Fundraising season – This week was a reminder that fundraising activity is high right now. I chatted with founders and fund managers about their fundraises. Some are going well; others aren’t. I think it’s good to have regular conversations with someone you trust who’s unaffiliated with your company or fund. Sometimes they can help highlight things that down-in-the-weeds founders and fund managers miss.‍
• Q3 is complete – Today was the last business day of the quarter. We’re two-thirds through 2023. Before you know it, the year will be over. I’m optimistic about what’s in store for Q4. I’m also starting to think about 2024.

Week one hundred eighty-three was another week of learning. Looking forward to next week!

This is my one-hundred-eighty-second weekly reflection. Here are my takeaways from this week:

• Valuation – I spent time enhancing my investing framework. Valuation is part of that framework. Traditional valuation approaches don’t make sense for some business models or companies. Digging into the data, using common sense, and applying a valuation approach tailored to the situation more accurately captures their value. In fact, doing so can uncover value that others are overlooking (or don’t understand).
• IPOs – Arm Holdings, Instacart, and Klaviyo have completed their public offerings. Time will tell how receptive public markets are to these companies. Recently, I dug deeper into a few IPOs and the liquidity they generated for the early-stage venture capital firms that backed them.
• Solopreneurs – I chatted with a few solopreneurs recently. Anecdotally, more people are wanting control of their professional trajectory and their time and are considering solopreneurship.

Week one hundred eighty-two was another week of learning. Looking forward to next week!

This is my one-hundred-eighty-first weekly reflection. Here are my takeaways from this week:

•  Surveying B2C – I had a great chat with a few entrepreneurs who own businesses that sell to consumers (B2C). These conversations provided ground-level information in real time on what’s happening with consumer spending habits. Anecdotal, but still helpful.  
• IPOs and fundraising – Arm Holdings, a semiconductor company, went public this week. Next week or the one after that, Instacart and Klaviyo could go public. A few early-stage founders I know officially kicked off their fundraises this week. The next few weeks of IPOs and fundraising will likely have an impact on public and private market investor sentiment.
• Rational decision-making – I’ve been thinking about a conversation I had with a seasoned entrepreneur. I think I’m going to start asking myself and others, “Is this a rational decision?”

Week one hundred eighty-one was another week of learning. Looking forward to next week!

This is my one-hundred-eightieth weekly reflection. Here are my takeaways from this week:

• Limited partners’ appetite – I had a long conversation with a good friend in private equity this week. He’s seeing that existing and prospective limited partners have a strong appetite for cash-flow-positive businesses and fund managers with operating experience who can improve portfolio company results by rolling up their sleeves.
• Impatient – This week was a reminder that I’m still impatient about certain things. Some projects take time to show results, which is frustrating. I’ve worked on being more patient over the years, but I still have my moments.
• Ground-level data – I was also reminded that in some instances, data collected at the ground level can help me get a better understanding of what’s happening—and much sooner—than aggregated high-level data in publications or from trade associations.

Week one hundred eighty was another week of learning. Looking forward to next week!

Over the years, I’ve learned that some of my insights and ideas come to me when I least expect them. Thinking back, the best ones usually come to me in the middle of the night. I wake up, and something I couldn’t figure out is suddenly crystal clear. I have a stream of related insights. It’s like all the puzzle pieces fit together and I can see the picture clearly.

These episodes can be fleeting. Just as suddenly as inspiration comes, it can go. I’ve had great insights in the middle of the night that I didn’t capture. Maybe I was too tired to get up or didn’t have the right tools. Whatever the reason, I’ve regretted not recording them when I couldn’t remember them the next morning. Knowing I had the insight and not being able to recall it was frustrating.

Knowing how rare and valuable these moments are and how quickly they dissipate, I’ve changed my approach. When I have an insight in the middle of the night, I get up and write it down in my journal. I don’t try to organize my thoughts. I simply write down as much of my stream of consciousness as possible. My brain is in the zone, and my goal is to capture as much of its output as possible. There’ll be time to organize it later. 

It happened last night. The solution to a problem I’ve been thinking about for months came to me. I recognized what was happening, got out of bed, and spent an hour writing down my thoughts. When I reviewed them this morning, I was glad I’d captured them. I think they’re the building blocks of something that could be big.

Great insights don’t happen every day. When I have them, I do whatever I can to capture them.

This is my one-hundred-seventy-eighth weekly reflection. Here are my takeaways from this week:

• Determining value – I’ve noticed a trait common to successful entrepreneurs who happen to be investors—I call them “investor entrepreneurs.” They can confidently value what they’re investing in—often in a way that differs from the rest of the market. When buying anything, they make sure to pay significantly less than what they’ve determined it’s worth, regardless of what others are doing and regardless of the asset type (real estate, start-ups, public companies, etc.).
• IPOs – I noticed, this week and last, an uptick in the number of tech-related firms planning to go public. Instacart, Klaviyo, and Arm are a few examples. I’m curious to see how the market receives these companies. I’m also curious to review their IPO filings to find out if they’re generating or burning cash.
• Emulate what you admire – Habitually emulating the positive qualities you admire in others is a life hack that compounds. Everyone can do it, but most people won’t.

Week one hundred seventy-eight was another week of learning. Looking forward to next week!

This is my one-hundred-seventy-seventh weekly reflection. Here are my takeaways from this week:

• Pricing – Determining the pricing model for the first version of your product is hard. I recently spent time with an early-stage founder on this. Pricing should give customers an incentive to use the solution more, not look for an alternative. It should also capture as much of the value you create for customers as possible. Finding the right approach requires balancing these two factors, as well as others, and is easier said than done.
• Better decisions – Making decisions that align with the long-term future you aspire to is difficult for some people. I underestimated just how difficult it is for some people. Suzy Welch’s 10-10-10 method is simple and has resonated with a few people I shared it with.  
• Independence – I’m not a fan of dependence. Needing to be in the driver’s seat of my own life led me to entrepreneurship, and it continues to be important to me. This week reinforced this feeling.  

Week one hundred seventy-seven was another week of learning. Looking forward to next week!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend two unrelated social gatherings on the same day. They were hosted by great families who happened to be at opposite ends of the economic spectrum. The hosts’ cultural backgrounds were different from each other’s and from mine, and they lived in different parts of Atlanta.

Everyone I encountered at both events was great, and I’m appreciative of the invites. I learned things about a culture I’m not familiar with, tasted new foods (which were amazing), and met interesting people from cultures different than my own.

The weekend reconfirmed something I’ve known for some time. I get a lot out of my time around good people with experiences and backgrounds different from mine. I really enjoy it. It helps me understand other people’s perspectives, which doesn’t come naturally to me. It’s also a fun and interesting way for me to learn about new cultures, experience unfamiliar traditions, and acquire wisdom not available in my usual circles.

Living in a bubble isn’t for me. I enjoy meeting a variety of people and having new experiences.