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 9 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
If You Cannot Pitch in Four Slides, You Haven't Mastered Your Story
“If you can't tell the story in four slides, you know, you just haven't really got your pitch down well”
VCs Should Not Invest in Their Own Internally Created Ideas
“I was sort of raised in the world that said, don't invest in your own ideas. Wait for the guy with passion to come in the front door and really sway you that this is an important idea.”
Venture Capital Takes Ten Years to Begin Doing Well
“This is a hard business. I mean, I think it takes 10 years to even begin to do it well.”
High-Performing VC Firms Rely on Detailed Systems and Process
“I think process is almost everything in good venture firms. If you get under the hood of any firm that you really respect, I think you'll find a very, very detailed process. Even though it looks chaotic, they have a pretty set system.”
Every Portfolio Company Inevitably Faces Major Trouble
“It's not a question of whether these companies are going to get into trouble. It's just a question of when.”
Startups Cannot Effectively Focus on More Than 10 Annual Objectives
“So beyond 10 objectives, we don't feel they can really be focusing on things that we think will change the outcome of the company.”
Failing Top Three Annual Objectives Indicates Serious Startup Problems
“Yeah, if companies aren't hitting their top two or three objectives, and if they're reasonable objectives, yeah, something's wrong.”
CEO Goals Are Company Goals, Making Sustained Underperformance Impossible
“There's no difference between the CEO's goals and the company goals, and if they really are just lagging behind dramatically, then it's just not something you can sustain.”
Investors Make Money in Winners, but Friends in Losers
“One that's kicking around in my head recently is, you know, back in September, Fred Wilson, in his blog, he quoted Brad Feld, who said that, you make money in winners, but you make friends in losers. And, you know, it's absolutely so true, and it's been very t…”