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.
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Party rounds leave founders without a dedicated lead investor
“When you have a two million dollar round and you've got four people at a half million dollars, you really don't have an anchor and you don't really have somebody who's putting a stake in the ground saying, Hey, you know what? I'm going to be there for you and …”
Single young founders must network in person three nights a week
“You know, if you're single, and you've got flexibility, if you're not out there at least a minimum of three nights a week, then you should go do something different.”
Tony Conrad predicts Blue Bottle Coffee will be a hallmark investment
“Blue bottle coffee is a bit of an atypical one for a tech investor to be doing, but it turns out that this is going to be, you know, one of the hallmark companies in our portfolio.”
Tony Conrad disagrees with Peter Fenton on founder unease
“No, not at all. In fact you know, that might work for Peter, and I think each investor, as I've learned even within our firm, has a different approach, and it's really important that you empower somebody to kind of adhere to their kind of instincts, if you wan…”
True Ventures always aims to be the anchor investor
“Our goal at True is always to be the anchor and to have the largest Shareholding in the company at that stage, because we think we're going to be able to impact the DNA of the company in a more profound way and help protect it more effectively.”
Chasing high valuations is highly detrimental to young founders
“Go get a high valuation. I think it's one of the most detrimental things that happens for these young entrepreneurs. They think it's a game. And the answer is not about just because you can get away with it. You know, you should go get a high valuation. You sh…”
Tony Conrad ignores market trends and is not thesis-driven
“I'm not thesis driven at all. I'm not trying to predict where the market is going or where the next great ideas are.”
Tony Conrad spends disproportionate time analyzing founder motivation
“And I spent probably a disproportionate amount of time, I think maybe more time than any other investor, in digging in on that basic premise for why are they after this?”
Active founder status gives VCs unique credibility with entrepreneurs
“When you're a venture capitalist and you are also an active founder, it gives you a certain kind of cache and a certain credibility that I think that really resonates with founders”
Investor and founder social networks remain largely distinct
“Venture capitalists run in certain circles, and entrepreneurs run in different circles, and They do overlap at time, the cocktail parties and things like that, but for the most part, they're pretty distinct”
Startup founders tend to underpay themselves and burn out
“Founders have a tendency to underpay themselves. They're overstressed. They're overstretched.”
Tony Conrad predicts Pluralsight will IPO within several years
“It was acquired by a company called Pluralsight, which is a very large private company that I think is marching towards a public market offering sometime in the next several years.”