Nov 10 2020
Opening Applications and Announcing $100M for Spearhead Founders
Now on TechCrunch
Today, we’re opening applications for the fourth class of Spearhead—where founders get their first fund. More
Jun 29 2020
Rapidly Growing Valuations Shouldn’t Scare You Off
Humans are bad at understanding exponential growth
Good investors show their best deals to their friends, so one subtle type of social proof is when you see a group of investors who like to invest together. More
Jun 26 2020
Reading Social Proof Is an Art Form
The ultimate social proof is a credible VC increasing their ownership
Social proof only works when the actors are independent and it matches up to your diligence and conviction. More
Jun 24 2020
Social Proof Is a Valid Signal
Every investor brings new information to the table
Social proof can get a bad rap, deservedly so because it can be a herd mentality where one monkey imitates the other.
There are reasons why humans follow social proof. More
Jun 17 2020
Ask About the Metrics They’re Not Showing You
One weird trick to get the truth about metrics
There’s a psychology trick you can use when you’re trying to find out why someone does or doesn’t do something. More
Jun 16 2020
It’s Easy to Exaggerate Early Traction
Put yourself in the customer’s shoes instead of fixating on traction
Jun 12 2020
Everything Is a Proxy for Traction
The holy grail is explosive growth, stickiness and an ability to monetize
At the end of the day, everything is about traction. You pick a great team, go for a big market and invest in great products because you’re trying to predict what masses of people will use or pay for. More
Jun 10 2020
Early Winners Don’t Always Make It to the Finish Line
Competitors can catch up while the market’s still small
Ben Horowitz is credited with the line: “The best product doesn’t always win, but the winning product becomes the best product.”
There are exceptions, though. More
Jun 8 2020
Invest in the First Credible Mover
Pick the right founder at the right time
Because of the nature of the Internet, products that seem extremely niche can spread quickly across the world, get into everyone’s phones and saturate entire markets before the competition knows what’s happening. More