Analyzing Venture Opportunities Part 2: Thinking About People – Will Robbins

“Founders matter most” is one of the most prolific philosophies in early stage VC. Most investors agree that the best companies are started by incredible people with ideas that aren’t so exciting at first glance. Airbnb is one of the canonical examples here. Notice that most rejections cited the product or market. It’s possible that Team was the issue and some investors lied to not burn bridges, but I don’t think that’s likely given PG’s recommendations and the team’s storytelling ability. So how should we think about early-stage teams when the product or market haven’t proved themselves yet? Here are a few things I look for. You can use this as a scorecard or checklist: Deliberate learning. How does a founder take feedback? Are they coachable? Will they adjust to feedback in real-time? Best of all, do they aggressively seek out feedback when none is offered? Recruiting ability. There are many ways that you can build a “recruiting unique value prop.” People like Saku are smart enough t

“Founders matter most” is one of the most prolific philosophies in early stage VC. Most investors agree that the best companies are started by incredible people with ideas that aren’t so exciting at first glance. Airbnb is one of the canonical examples here. Notice that most rejections cited the product or market. It’s possible that Team was the issue and some investors lied to not burn bridges, but I don’t think that’s likely given PG’s recommendations and the team’s storytelling ability. So how should we think about early-stage teams when the product or market haven’t proved themselves yet?