While I was doing my MBA at MIT, I interned at the US’s oldest venture capital firm and most successful VC firms in the world, Bessemer Venture Partners.
I learnt a lot from my time there, but two things still resonate with me to date:
- Recognizing that there’s going to be an antiportfolio. If you are a VC or you do angel investing, you will agree that it is impossible to say yes to all the deals that you hear from, and eventually will pass on ultimately great companies.
- Sustaining investing decisions on data-supported execution momentum. It’s a costly and patient exercise, but it’s truly helpful to mitigate the unquestionable risks that come with venture capital investing.
We need to live with making a judgement mistake or just letting in our own personal bias on where we think an industry will go. What is really painful is that a great opportunity comes by and I don’t get to the point where deciding whether investing or not.
You may be thinking - “As if that was an easy task”. Well, I am here to tell you that the best we can do is by monitoring founder’s execution and progress and understanding your (and your team’s) biases.
Databell is building software that allows you to monitor your dealflow on its progress and ability to execute. Growing your own “orchard” of startups’ execution data will allow you to spot any company within your dealflow that is reaching momentum.
You could think of it like this. In order to build a line - hopefully a growth line - you need at least two data points. It’s like looking at a picture versus watching a movie.
In the meantime, tell your friends!
