Exited founder (Flow, acquired by Deloitte), ex-VC, Swagger.vc game, founderinresidence.co
Joined October 2008
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- Following 1,317
- Followers 2,755
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271 Photos and videos
11 Feb 2025
Too many founders are trying to figure out “the right way to do it” Eg founder mode. I want to love this idea. Except I have no idea what it is.
Founders need irrational certainty. But when it comes to loud, certain advice it’s better to have a skeptical mindset and a default question: I wonder if that’s true?
From The Illusion of Certainty founderinresidence.co/the-il…
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9 Aug 2024
Lots of lessons from the best Angel investment in Canadian history. Mine: Angels should make (bigger) bets on (better) founders. opmwire.com/john-phillips-an…
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8 Aug 2024
Most Angels are followers (which is ok). You can recognize followers by how they talk about their deals: they emphasize who else is in their deals and name drop prominent investors.
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8 Aug 2024
Every dollar counts, but don't call yourself an Angel if you can only invest $5000. Trust me, the startup needs more.
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7 Aug 2024
I get asked this question a lot in my founders workshops: "What if an Angel also wants to be paid as a consultant?" I know my answer, what's yours?
1/ No problem if they add value
2/ Never. Run away.
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7 Aug 2024
Agree or disagree with these categories? From a post about recognizing different types of Angels and their needs.
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6 Aug 2024
Before raising from Angels it pays to understand the different types. Eg most Angels are followers. It's better to focus on a lead who can think independently. I wrote a blog post about Angel types: founderinresidence.co/recogn… #angels #founders #pitching
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1 Aug 2024
Playing @swaggervcgame with founders in the ChaiTech Accelerator. The winning fund? $75M in -> $1.5B out. Pretty great return. #vc #boardgames #founders
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21 Nov 2023
What if the OpenAI board was right? In the sense they did their duty as independent directors? Everything about the structure and charter supports acting independently of what's good for profit or shareholder value.
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21 Nov 2023
They are slowing down progress of AI
True. But the mission is “to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI)...benefits all of humanity.” No mention of speed (and many will believe the exact opposite.)
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6 Nov 2023
Really appreciated @amandapey 's courageous/insightful debrief on Braid's shutdown. Maybe too hard on herself in the harsh light of hindsight. amandapeyton.com/blog/2023/1…
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5 Nov 2023
Things going wrong are not negative signals for some future VC. They are part of being a founder and building something great.
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4 Nov 2023
The game of building startups is unpredictable. It’s not only impossible to be predictable but it’s not even the goal. We would have so much less innovation if we merely achieved what we set out to do.
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3 Nov 2023
One of the most uncomfortable conclusions from The Founder’s Dilemmas (Wasserman) is this: founders who had the most control had the least financial return. Question the assumption that max control = max reward. The data says otherwise.
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3 Nov 2023
Using a decision tree to map out the future can be incredibly useful. No, it does not help you predict the future. But it creates a mindset where you accept multiple paths and possibilities, each with their own probabilities of success or failure. It's not a straight line.
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