With Whom I Invest

The title of an interview of Andy Liu, “When I invest in Entrepreneurs, I want Entrepreneurs Who Are Willing To Walk Through Walls”, reminded me that I too like energetic, ambitious entrepreneurs. And since it’s on my mind (because it’s on others’ minds), I thought it would be a good idea to get completely transparent, and outline some of the traits I like to see in the entrepreneurs with whom I invest.

• Willingness To Walk Through Walls certainly tops the list, as it should.
• Ambition is a key quality
• Energy is absolutely required
• The value of Strength cannot be over-emphasized

Here are some other synonyms for “ambition”, “energy”, and “strength”

• Power
• Sovereignty
• Might
• Sway
• Aspiration
• Drive

Also, if I know that my VC golfing buddies from other firms are meeting with a particular entrepreneur, I like to invest in those guys, if I can—provided they have a great team and are willing to walk through walls.

Where I Invest

My firm has a great track record. What’s the secret of our success? My partners and I only invest in great teams.

Whereas other venture firms prefer to take their chances with untested greenhorns, we’ve found that our funds perform much better when we invest in companies that have great teams.

So to increase your chances of being granted the opportunity to give me a large portion of the equity in your company, you should prepare by first being a great team, and if you’re not a great team, then either become great, or go pitch the many firms who invest only in mediocre and bad teams—statistically speaking, there must certainly be many; most of the truly great teams are already busy at work in our portfolio.

So be great. Or go away.