round about 2 years ago I started cold messaging 200 people a week and making friends with people all over the world - they were founders, investors, writers, operators, youtubers, etc
🧵🥲
in case i haven't mentioned in a while. i invest in startups at the ideation stage. if you are an founder in the thick of it and not sure who to talk to, shoot me a message.
i like working with founders who's ideas are in a fluid state, maybe you are not ready for capital. thats
if you are a founder about to kick off your fundraise and want to know which VCs are actually working this summer
i am happy to point you in the right direction
✨🚨 update🚨 ✨
i’m building something new and am setting out to focus on it full time.
at
@AforeVC
i’ve been able to work with a world class team and invest in extraordinary founders.
and i'm excited to continue collaborating with the best in class @ the pre-seed stage.
today i join
@AforeVC
as their first full time investor backing founders from across the globe at the earliest stage.
my focus is international, so if you're a founder outside the US, hmu 🤩🌎
my advice to break into venture:
1. don't share deals for the sake of showing dealflow.
2. select 2 Founder's a month you are hyped about and go deep with them. work for them. help with their story. get them customers. pretend like you invested in the company. or even better,
have a few spots left @ a founder/investor dinner we are having this friday may 13th in nyc - who should join?
would love to make some more twitter > irl friends
i was a VC with barely any C..but i did 8 deals in 8 months..and when I ran out of money I moved into my parent's basement to raise a fund.
i was going all in.
lots of serendipity.
@ericbahn
and I grew up in the same small suburb in Michigan.
went to the same elementary, middle, and high school.
And both ended up in venture in SF.
3 weeks ago I moved into a hacker house in San Francisco.
3 days in my roommate
@RealKevinYang
calls me and asks me to help him unload a truck of 3000 lbs of Pocky into our living room.
Tonight we are throwing a Pocky Party!!
DM for invite :)
got to have a fireside chat with my childhood best friend
@packyM
in front of all of
#ODC
it was a great convo spanning venture, the metaverse, and risk taking in life
80% of success is showing up.
decided to fly in last minute to LA for the week, and met so many great people. new and old friends.
if you ever hear about a conference too late and don't have a ticket - always just show up.
sometimes, truly being the first believer in a person is the most impactful thing you can do.
everything after that is marginal. whether its landing a customer or finding a first hire etc.
being the first spark of positivity in this cold world of someone's entrepreneurial
we at
@AforeVC
are staying true to our pre-seed roots, and i think
@drake
said it best
"I like when money makes a difference but don't make you different"
one of the hardest parts of fundraising is finding the right partner.
so, we decided to make it easier by launching a "common app" for pre seed founders ;)
i angel invested the actual last 3k I had in in my bank account into
@kelseyCbishop
and not too long after she said I had to meet
@gjain
and
@anamitra
…that’s how I ended up at Afore.
small checks can change the game
Not sure it matters if you write a 5k check or 25k check if you are angel investing to build a track record. Very easy to get allocation up to 25k. Probably 50k. Would focus on the deal itself vs check size if just getting started.
btw i just joined
@beondeck
's Angel program.
it isn't often you can say that you are surrounded by angels :)
if you're an angel and want to learn more, DMs open
going to be in NYC this week and wanted to bring some founders and investors together for a little happy hour.
so far have a good group of 15 people - I just have to pick a place…
Any suggestions on location or folks who want to cohost??
i was back in SF this past week and I had 4-5 IRL meetings planned for each day.
But just by virtue of walking around South Park / the ferry building - that turned into 10+
literally bumped into 20 plus ppl, it really is buzzing
people underestimate the cold message.
if done correctly, with authenticity
it can act as an equalizing force.
the cold message can put you in touch with someone who you may never have had the chance to be in the same city as, let alone the same room.
stay tuned.
Grocery store cashier -> cancer researcher -> neuro researcher -> algae researcher-> venture capitalist
Life is strange but better as you know yourself more and find a niche
also to be fair - i know some really good VCs who barely take any time off during the year - still hustling during christmas, thxgiving, eid, etc.
and during the summer, things do slow down. just a bit. so they take a break.
interesting that so many SF based VCs are coming to london in the next couple of weeks…
i was here before it was cool - if you’re around and want to meet up let me know, hosting a few events and dinners :)
back in SF this coming week with some London friends - all of whom I initially met via Twitter.
If we’ve connected on Twitter a while ago and you are in sf this week lmk.
we will do a Twitter -> IRL hangout.
one of my favorite founders (I personally invested pre idea) finally found his idea and has been growing the business.
they have been getting inbound from strategic angels but been struggling to close - and has only 10 days of runway…
in the past 3 days they have had multiple
there are so many helpful people that go under the radar.
part of me wants to make a list of all the high integrity people I’ve met over the years that do good work helping Founders.
is that something worth sharing ?
i met
@daraladje
in 2021. around that time we had both quit our jobs to figure out what was next..
2 years later he and
@samspelsberg
are building exactly what he envisioned around that time - w/ the same hardcore grit & determination.
lucky to be an early supporter 🥳
1/ Meet
@with_delphi
, a digital cloning platform that captures your thinking, making your knowledge, experiences, personality, and opinions available to others in a personalized way.
Delphi allows you to have personalized one-on-one conversations with your audience at scale.
OK friends it's time for my first JUICY thread, that I think might be helpful to people [like me] who are looking for their first role in VC
I'll talk about answering questions for VC Apps...check it out
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
one of my favorite Founders is hiring their first biz ops hire in LA.
I invested in this team pre-idea - and now they are well on their way building in stealth.
if you are an execution oriented individual looking for your next play at a startup backed by some of the best
whenever anyone asks me what advice I would my give your 20 year old self I say:
don’t take anyones advice, and make decisions faster. that way all your mistakes are your own, and scar tissue is useful. Also, read more books.
in the meantime, if you are someone scribbling ideas on a napkin and thinking about your next great adventure... drop me a line.
stay tuned for more info. 👀
my mom recently posted a photo of me on facebook wishing me happy birthday.
a bunch of people commented wishing me happy birthday.
my mom responded to each one of them saying:
"thank you so much"
♥️♥️♥️♥️
a couple of months ago i met
@ericbahn
- turns out we went to the same elementary school, middle school AND high school ...albeit just a couple of years a part 😅
the world is very very small
doing my afternoon routine scroll on twitter & linkedin
and amidst all the "i'm happy to announce" noise
@rubenharris
consistently delivers the best posts
i'm so lucky to have spent time under the wings of
@anamitra
&
@gjain
as their first full time investor.
and i'm grateful for them championing me as I embark on this new chapter.
hypothesis: there is a cap to cold DMing ppl.
the longer you're in an industry, the window of opportunity to successfully connect via cold DM decreases.
as you gain legitimacy, instead of people being excited about you reaching out - there is skepticism as to why you
don’t take anything personally when trying to get a meeting with a role model/industry legend.
people have kids, obligations, worries, their own health + actual work.
when someone doesn’t make time for you - it’s got nothing to do with you.
if you’re any good at what you do,
tmrw i'm having a fireside chat with
@kelseyCbishop
to chat about how she raised her pre-seed
@saidwithcandor
!!
if you are a founder - anywhere in the world thinking about raising your first round you don't want to miss her story <3
register here:
Another example why Inception Investing is not pre-seed or seed - proof points?
True Inception rounds all about engaging w/founders well b4 they incorporate
+ leading rds at company formation. There is no product. No customers. No traction. It’s the founders + opportunity.
1/Two months in, 1,300 applications and one investment later, we’re excited to share some stats about our recently-launched Alpha program!
Founders from 40+ industries, 81 countries, 40 states, and diverse backgrounds.
Read our article here or check out a summary below 👇
over the past couple of years people ask me who are the angels or investors I like working with.
1 common characteristic among those people is that they are straight to the point and no BS
What if you could buy anything with just a text? 🤔
No more credit cards.
No more checkouts.
No more infinite scrolling.
Just think, and receive.
Well, now you can.
Introducing Friday, the GPT3-powered personal assistant for conversational commerce 👇