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Investment Theses

Most important, see Versatile VC.

I am particularly interested in two sectors:

Macro themes

  • Human knowledge compounds; we build new things on the shoulders of giants at a faster and faster pace. See the Law of Accelerating Returns: the rate of change of progress keeps accelerating, because humans can use the technology at their disposal to progress faster than previous generations could without the technology
  • More and more high potential people are becoming founders, because of lack of traditional job opportunities; far better education around founding companies; and the no-code movement.
  • Trusted business relationships are far more valuable than relationships with people with whom you don’t have a history, particularly in an era of social distancing.

VC firm management

  • If tech investors eat their own dog food, and use technology and analytics in their investment process, they’ll get better results.  In the liquid markets, firms like DE Shaw and Two Sigma have rethought investing by using technology and data to inform their decision-making. In the private markets, few investors are yet doing this. See Venture capitalists eating our own dog food: Using technology and analytics to make better investments. I cannot promise limited partners performance alpha, but I have excellent odds of delivering process alpha.
  • If you invest in diverse women and founders from non-traditional backgrounds, you will get better returns. An investors’ job is to invest in what others overlook.
  • Alternative VC (e.g., Flexible VC; Revenue-based Finance) is a better fit than traditional equity venture capital for many early-stage companies.