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 11 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
Von Perger: Slack's strategy of stockpiling cash is counterintuitive
“So I think stockpiling the way a company like Slack is doing it at the moment seems counterintuitive from my point of view.”
Von Perger: Founders should raise extra capital when valuation terms are favorable
“If you can raise at decent terms i.e. A good enough valuation without giving away too much equity, it's probably a good idea to raise now, even if it's a little bit more than what you need.”
Von Perger: Founders should rely on trusted third parties to lobby VCs
“But it's really all about getting getting other people to sort of lobby for you.”
Von Perger: Realistic market sizing matters more than arbitrarily huge numbers
“So I think being clear and being honest to yourself when you estimate a market is actually more important than showing that it's huge, because it's relatively easy to just make up something really big.”
Von Perger: Impersonal 'Dear Investor' pitch emails receive immediate, brief rejections
“If I've received a sort of a email that says dear investor, then the pass on that will be extremely short.”
Von Perger: University students now prefer founding startups over banking
“I probably, you know, when I was a student, everybody would have said, I want to be a banker, and I want to be a consultant. And nowadays, a lot of them say, hey, I want to set up a business”
Von Perger: Prepare 10 to 25 pitch slides but focus on narrative
“When I go to a meeting as a founder, I would probably have something between 10 and 25 pages with me to explain all the important aspects of the business. But Not necessarily look at every slide during the one hour meetings, typically a one hour meeting, but r…”
Von Perger: VCs evaluate five to ten active deals simultaneously
“While for you, the business is like, The one thing for the investor, it's probably one of five or 10 things they're currently looking at.”
Von Perger: Startup pitch follow-ups should highlight fresh traction milestones
“I would include success stories. So by the way, we've signed, you know three more clients and we've had a real good new hire. To make it really worth the while for the investor to think, ah, you know, even if I wasn't so excited the first time sort of to get r…”
Von Perger: Founders must follow up on every VC introduction offer
“A lot of investors will talk about all the introductions they can make. And I always recommend people to really follow up on that and, you know, not let any offer for an introduction to a potential customer or potential portfolio company, et cetera, like slip …”
Von Perger: Answering initial VC feedback demonstrates founder coachability
“Because when you go for that second meeting or second call and you can, Show that you've listened to the questions and the feedback in the first interaction and kind of, you know, bring good answers to those questions. I think that's a really powerful way of s…”