The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 19 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 0 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
MacCaw: Founders Should Put Personal Trainers and Therapists on the Company Card
“As soon as you raise that first round, or you get to profitability, then put a personal trainer on the company card, put an exec coach on the company card, put a therapist on the company card. These are absolutely legitimate expenses, and you should be spendin…”
MacCaw: Venture Capitalists Are Just Salespeople Selling Financial Products
“So the first thing to realize that VCs are professional salespeople. That's all they are. They're salespeople that sell financial instruments.”
MacCaw: Profitability Is the Only True Leverage Founders Have With VCs
“If you can't walk away, you have no leverage. So get profitable. It's the only way you can walk away.”
MacCaw: Clearbit Expects Minimal Operational Help From Its VC Investors
“I tell our VCs that I actually don't want much help from them. If I want a recruiter, I'll pay for a recruiter, and there'll be a better recruiter than that VC because they're full-time.”
MacCaw: Clearbit Will Add Operators, Not Investors, to Its Board
“So we will set up a board, and I'm planning on doing it next year, but we're going to add more operators to it rather than have any investors on it.”
MacCaw: Startups Should Delay Establishing a Formal Board Until Series B
“Definitely not for the seed. I would just raise the seed on all safes. For the A, try not to add to the board, and then maybe the B. Often you just don't have a choice. A lot of investors will require being on the board. There's kind of a luxury having the cho…”
MacCaw: Interviews Fail; References Are the Only Reliable Evaluation Method
“But I do believe that frankly, interviews just don't cut it. You know, the only real way we found of evaluating candidates is through references and back channels.”
MacCaw: Founders Should Ignore VC Brand Prestige and Prioritize Clean Terms
“The second piece of advice I have for negotiating with VCs is to stop caring about external validation. So stop caring about the glamour, about the big name VC, None of it matters in my opinion. You're simply trying to sell a piece of your company for the clea…”
MacCaw: Clearbit Received Zero Recruiting Candidates From Its VC Investors
“Honestly, we had no candidates through our existing investors or through other investors”
MacCaw Founded Clearbit as a Vehicle for Personal Self-Actualization
“I actually started this company as a tool to self actualize.”
MacCaw: Operations and Management Determine Post-PMF Startup Success
“Operations and management are the unglamorous side of company building, sure, but after product-market They are the difference between success and failure.”
MacCaw: Hiring the Right People Upfront Is 80% of Management
“I think what is less understood is that 80% of the work of management is actually done up front by hiring the right people.”
MacCaw: Mandatory Employee Sourcing Sessions Are the Best Way to Scale Hiring
“So the secret is sourcing sessions. Sit down with your engineers or whoever is relevant for the role and then use tools. There's tools like teamable, or you can just go through the LinkedIn and use LinkedIn recruiter. You literally just got to sit them down be…”
MacCaw: Clearbit Keeps the Exact Same OKRs for the Entire Year
“What we do is the leadership team gets together and we'll figure out the company OKRs at the start of the year, and we actually have the same OKRs the whole year. And that includes the revenue number, but it also includes a number of other things that we're wo…”
MacCaw: Clearbit Maintains Default Transparency Except for Compensation and Performance
“To be clear, we are transparent in all areas by default, aside from compensation and performance.”
MacCaw: Minute-by-Minute Fundraising Updates Distract Startup Teams
“So you should be transparent, but giving people the minute by minute play by play updates to the funding round is just going to distract them.”
MacCaw: Clearbit Perks Include Full-Time Chefs and Therapy for All Employees
“We actually have two full-time chefs, because people just pick the default. If there's shitty food in front of them, they'll pick it. We offer gym stipends. We offer therapy for everyone. We offer the best health insurance. We have on track vacation. You can w…”