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Wagner: First-time founders' biggest mistake is prioritizing expediency over value

Peter Wagner · Peter Wagner: 27 Years of Investing Lessons of Picking Founders, Price Discipline & Reserve | E1123 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings · Mar 6, 2024 · at 58:27

Peter Wagner, Founding Partner at Wing Venture Capital, details how short-term fixes in hiring and fundraising ultimately compromise startup growth.

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“I think choosing expedience over, you know, the hard things that, that actually Contribute to long-term value. You know, there's sort of quick fixes and sort of feel-good measures that can take the edge off whatever is bothering you at a moment in time. But those chickens come home to roost so that this might manifest itself in, you know, in a hiring decision, you know, where you opt for good enough instead of holding out for great. This might manifest itself in fundraising, where you sort of take, you know, ready, friendly capital instead of partners that, you know, can really help you. And you know, eventually those accumulation of expediences compromise a company.”

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