Over the last several weeks my team and I have been in the process of marketing our next fund. Collectively, we have probably traveled over 10,000+ miles (by plane) in the last 60 to 90 days talking to potential investors. We’ve been to Boston, Chicago, Tulsa, London, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Austin, Oklahoma City, Houston, Baltimore, Portland, and Vancouver (WA). In each place we go we normally … Continue reading Pattern Recognition
It has been tremendously difficult to choose one topic per week to write about from the Art of War because the book is filled with SO many different topics to choose from that I think are all worth writing about. One theme from the book that I have been pondering is the strategy of staying in one place and not moving until you have a … Continue reading The Art of War Series – Part II – Move Only When You Have the Advantage
In 2008 I was working as a financial advisor in Chicago for a large insurance company. The job was 100% commission-based and I was responsible for paying for absolutely all of my expenses. The company didn’t provide anything to its advisors, not even basic necessities like printing paper or paperclips. I was 27 years old at the time and enjoyed what I was doing. … Continue reading The Challenge of Making Tough Decisions
Unfortunately, I was sick most of the weekend, so on Sunday I forced myself to sit down and get some R&R. The worst part about being sick is, well, being sick. But the best part is that I usually have a lot of uninterrupted time to read. One of the books that I’ve been eager to read for some time is The Five Dysfunctions of … Continue reading The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
My son has 38 fidget spinners! In fact, his collection of fidget spinners practically doubled on Christmas day because my wife and I bought him a large box full of them as Christmas present. About a year ago, purchasing a box full of fidget spinners and not breaking the bank, would have been impossible. Now, every store we go to there are piles of fidget … Continue reading The Rise and Fall of Fidget Spinners
I was listening to a Freakonomics podcast this week about the major difference between risk and uncertainty. Like most people, I previously assumed risk and uncertainty were essentially the same thing. But after listening to the researchers on this podcast it became blaringly apparent how different the two are. Webster defines risk as the “possibility of loss or injury” or “someone or something that … Continue reading Understanding Risk and Uncertainty: Making Wise Decisions As An Entrepreneur
My wife and I went out with a group of friends and family last night to celebrate my birthday and had a great time. We spent a fair amount of time standing around waiting for our table because the restaurant was crowded and there were several in our group (like 11 or so). Once we finally sat down I decided to sit in the middle … Continue reading Caught In The “Dead Zone”
Let me start off by saying that I have nothing against dogs and that in general, I think dogs are great. In fact, ever since we got our dog two years ago, I’ve noticed patterns in his behavior that suggest he might make for a great CEO. To set the stage, I never had any pets growing up. Sure, I had a few animals, but … Continue reading The Few Things I Admire about My Dog
Over the last week or so, I have seen quite a few pitch decks from VC fund managers who are either raising a new or follow-on fund investment fund. One of the interesting things about the majority of these meetings is not going page by page through the firm’s pitch deck in its entirety. It’s a small observation, but meaningful in a lot of ways. … Continue reading The “Un-Pitch Deck”
In the last week and a half, I have been on four separate airplanes and in three different airports. One of the things I tend to notice more when I’m traveling is how people behave when they’re in large groups. When you observe a large group of people, say, walking through an airport terminal, you begin to notice patterns. Such patterns include speech, gestures, tones, … Continue reading What I Learned From People-Watching
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