My Learnings:
1. As a fund continuous returns are important.
2. Winning with consistency requires discipline. Finding breakout winners is everything but how a #VC fund operates determines repeatability. What worked for us: Trusting our own insight, diligence and future casting vs. investing entirely based on team and TAM.
3. Outcomes are a result of inputs and processes. We’re in a SAW asset class (see, analyze, win) and our team has been assembled (skills, experience and work ethic) and our processes have been designed to produce consistent outcomes.
4. We obsess about having the expertise to understand the businesses we dig into. And we obsess about “doing the work” during diligence.
5. Our best investments were in companies or themes that other investors didn’t want to bet on. Being early to a trend or a geo drove returns. Our best investments only looked good to us early on and then suddenly looked good to everyone once they scaled a bit.
6. Price discipline
7. Stick to thesis – the farther away from thesis, the worse the fund does.
8. Our winners emerged within 2 years of our investment. Our best companies started strong and rarely encountered periods of slow growth. Our “red” companies occasionally made it to “yellow” but never permanently to “green”.
9. Investments based on anything other than table pounding conviction sucked. Insider rounds that extended runway sucked. Investments justified based on their deal structures sucked. Investments based on “the price reflects the flaws” sucked.
10. our advice was more clear-minded after de-risking.
11. Every investment is a risk you take. Embrace it.
