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 17 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
Series A pitch decks focusing on CAC and LTV should be rejected
“I actually disagree with Fred. I think if CAC and LTV is a focus on a series A deck, I essentially just want to throw the deck out.”
Most VCs are mediocre and overall VC returns are poor
“The vast majority of VCs are mediocre. That's why the asset class generally is poor, and the top funds generally perform quite well.”
More capital is usually not the solution to startup problems
“I think the dot-com crash in many ways informed my point of view that more capital is usually not the solution to problems.”
Facebook ads easily scale brands to $50M, but rarely to $500M
“It's very easy these days to Scale a brand from zero to fifty million by using hyper-targeting on Facebook. It's very hard to take a brand from fifty million to five hundred million in an enduring way, and to create billions in equity value.”
Sudden CAC spikes force online brands to sell to offline incumbents
“CAC doesn't gradually go from 20 to 25 to 30. It goes from 21 day to 80 the next, and I think in many cases where you've created a online category leader, the best solution really is to sell it to a offline previous category leader that's looking to maintain t…”
Chewy is the model consumer venture exit, not Bonobos
“I look at Chewy's as what Wright looks like, not Bonobo's, right?”
Emotional brand connection is the best weapon to beat Amazon
“I think there's the best way to beat Amazon is with heart. I think Amazon doesn't create the emotional connection with a brand that, say, a Chewy's did, or a Zappos did.”
Professional managers cannot execute strategic pivots; the CEO must lead
“You can't hire professional managers to really change the focus of a business. My biggest lesson was when you have an incredibly important strategic initiative, the CEO needs to clear everything off their plate and make it happen.”
Every Maveron portfolio Series B faces questions about Amazon
“Every single Series B that our portfolio companies raise, the question raised is, what's Amazon going to do?”
Maveron keeps investments unannounced due to competition from Amazon
“You know, my last three core investments still haven't been announced, largely out of fear of competition, both from Amazon.”
Jason Stoffer prefers startups serving Middle America over the top 1%
“I also have a deep affinity for companies that target middle America versus companies that are focused on the one percent.”
Maveron's best startups rely on repeat customers, not paid acquisition
“If there's a unique characteristic across the most successful portfolio companies we have, it's high repeat and a lack of dependence upon paid acquisition for a significant piece of your revenue.”
Coding bootcamps suffer from non-repeat purchases and high search acquisition costs
“The problem with coding bootcamps is it's a one-time purchase. It's not repeated. Customers often search for it in Google, and even if you have the best product, it's hard to make that readily apparent in the consumer's minds.”
VCs must not let personal stress affect founder communications
“Everything you say to an entrepreneur you work with has to have intent. You can't let your stress, what's in your head, or your mood impact them.”
Zulily grew from zero to $1B revenue in five years
“So I was lucky enough to be on the board of Zulily. It went zero to a billion in revenue in five years.”