It’s not personal
I meet a lot of people.
I'm bad at remembering faces. I'm worse at remembering names.
If I forget yours, it is me and not you. And it's not personal.
I should get this laminated and hand it out instead of business cards.
So much to do
I have so much to do today. I won't give you the list, but... here's how I'm trying to manage it.
- Make a list
- Make sure to include everything, even the small things
- Tick off everything as you go along, even the small things
- Don't delete from the list as you do stuff, important
- If there's additional stuff that happens during the day that you have to do, add it to the list even if you've already done it. It's real and you'll forget what you've achieved otherwise
- You can really see what you've done, that you've done a lot even if there's a lot left
- When you can see what you've already achieved, it's easier to do the rest, no matter how much there is
Anyway, this is what I'm trying. See some of you tomorrow in London for Casual Coffee.
Casual Coffee
Who'd like to join me for a Casual Coffee in London on Monday?
Edit: and we're full. Will share again if there are any drop outs.
Innovation is not enough
My latest for Business Brief. Great new ideas will not get you there on their own. You need a great entrepreneur to drive them. And they need to focus on figuring out the customer need so they can deliver the right product.
Also, how this mindset influences me at unbundled vc.
what’s odd about marc
"Yeah, but what's 'really' odd about Marc?"
My GPT - Ask Marc Anything - has been updated with all my podcasts I have transcripts for.
You can get interesting answers, for example "what's odd about marc".
Have a go, let me know what you think, share some interesting responses please.
All the skills are learnable
I used to be an introvert. Most people would now describe me as extrovert.
Still a nerd, but an extrovert nerd.
All the skills are learnable, no matter your natural aptitude.
Impractically perfect
If it's perfect, you waited too long to do it.
I guarantee it's not perfect, and you won't know how until you have feedback.
And you can't get feedback until you do it.
Best of British
Good luck to all founders and entrepreneurs in today's budget 🤞 .
Otherwise, see you in Guernsey.
How do you see me
It's hard for us to see ourselves how others see us. I find it hard too.
What do you see when you see me? No positives without a negative, please. I value your honesty.
Keep 'em coming.
Marmite in print
My article in Guernsey Press on tax and what it will take to get my vote.
Answer: a first principles approach and an understanding of the way it will impact our economy.
Let it fly
Sometimes you have to throw an idea out into the wild to see if it will fly.
And be comfortable that it may not.
“This is how it’s always been done.”
I hate, "This is how it's always been done." It's a blocker on innovation. You have to know why.
It's as true in VC as anywhere.
Pitch decks, ownership targets, process, valuation, and more.
If you can't look at everything through fresh eyes, it's hard to outperform. In any business.
Knowing too much
"It's weird to say this, but one great advantage I had in starting a business was knowing that I didn't know much about building a business.
It forced me to watch, listen, and learn. I knew I would make many mistakes, but it was better than thinking I knew and being wrong"
Sometimes it is easier to come at a problem without knowing to much. It forces you not to assume.
Thank you Jimi Sotimehin for your wisdom.
The best founders: part 183
The best founders try and get as close to their customer needs as possible.
It's hard to build the right thing or to know what message will resonate with them without that.
VC10X podcast
It's podcast time, with Prashant Choubey of VC10X. Highlights include:
- My journey from Maths nerd to VC
- Building the world's best Poker AI
- Why I backed companies like Runna
- How AI helps me compete with bigger firms
Catch it on YouTube and Spotify in the comments.
All VCs suck: Part II
All VCs suck: Part II.
Fred Destin just wrote about being shocked at founders' views of VCs on boards - that they subtract value not add - and need education to perform better. (link in comments)
The truth is this is a sympton of a much broader problem. Most VCs don't know how to be true partners to founders rather than investors. They think about what matters to them and not what the founder needs. (if you're reading, I'm sure you are the exception)
Solve that and the board problem naturally goes away.
No unique insight?
No unique insight? No venture backable business.
What's yours? You've spotted a problem nobody else has - or a way to solve it nobody else has though of.
Expert or generalist, you need that unique insight. Then you need to convince others - investors, customers, potential team members - that it's real. Then you need to execute.
But if you don't have that unique insight - if it's obvious to everyone - you don't have a venture backable business.