ALT “Let’s assume you have the vision for a great new solution to a customer pain point in a very big market and you have the ambition to run fast to grow a company to develop and sell that solution. What are some of the things to watch out for when raising venture capital? This is a big question of course, and way beyond the scope of this…” from “10 reasons startups struggle when raising VC funding” by Steve Collins.
ALT “Growth in your career, like in business, is a trade-off; places, where you’re likely to learn most, are also likely to be the most precarious. When you optimize for growth, you take on an element of risk. This level of risk creates binary outcomes in business: you’ll rarely see businesses optimized for hyper-growth do just ok — they either implode or do incredibly well.” from “Designing for Growth” by Finn Murphy.
ALT “…my ask is simple: if you brand yourself as an early stage investor, please don’t turn down businesses because they are ‘too early’. Turn them down because the numbers don’t add up, the pain point they are solving for isn’t real, or because the team behind the solution is shaky. Be direct, and be honest — entrepreneurs rely on your feedback to make critical…” from “If you say ‘early’, mean it.” by William McQuillan.
