2022 learnings - Reputation, Investment Process and LinkedIn

Reputation -

Reputation matters more than ever. Landscape means if you have a bad reputation you'll only get the deals other people don't want.
If you charge fees to companies for investing (I don't) there will be a whole load of deals you don't see. There are VCs that charge 5% or even 10% and sometimes monitoring fees on top of that.
If one of those companies is leading a deal, it can be a red flag, but reputation is the most important factor here.

Investment Process (credit to Fred Soneya for the question) -

Think hard about your investment criteria and make sure your process is designed to match that. Be intentional.
In my first meeting, I am trying to find out as much about the founder as I am about the business. I do that by asking how they got to this point of the business and how the product has changed from what they first thought it would be. If it has changed, how did you figure that out. I am trying to understand you and your skills by asking about the business.
Move fast if you can. Figure out if you are likely to change your mind with another meeting or day to think about it. If you won't, make that decision today. People appreciate promptness.
If you need another meeting at any stage then make sure you know what you are uncertain about and prepare how you will figure that out. If you are ill-prepared founders can tell and you still might not know if you want to invest. That serves nobody.
Know what your perfect pace of investing would be. Periodically adjust your bar upwards or downwards to reach that. Happily, I've had better deal flow than ever before so I've had to adjust mine upwards.
I do that by comparing an opportunity with the last three or four things I've committed to. If it's in the top half I will invest, if not then no. I will review after a few months and again compare my pace of commitments against perfect.

LinkedIn -

It's a grind, you have to post every day.
It's like a muscle, it gets easier over time.
Learn your authentic voice and stick to it. Don't try and copy somebody else's. People can tell.
If you have a genuine question in your post, people will comment and that can drive engagement. The question has to be real rather than just designed for comments.
Sometimes you have no idea which posts will get traction and which won't. Accept that.

#founders #startups #venturecapital #buildinginpublic #investinginpublic