My VC resolutions for 2024

1) Be an AI leader: Buy at least one share of Open AI in that employee secondary at an $86B valuation – then change website and all social profiles to “early believer and investor in Open AI”

2) Leverage the network: In conversation, drop frequent references to “Sam”, “Satya” and “the Besties” – I put in the hours building the relationship, by liking their tweets and listening religiously to the All-in podcast, now people need to know I’m tight with those guys

3) Add value: Formula 1 is a major sport in the US now, and founders in my portfolio will want know that I “get it”. Plan on attending several Grand Prix in 2024. While in Miami, Vegas or Monaco, send founders energizing texts like “Do you have the DRIVE TO SURVIVE?”, or “What would it take for us to be in POLE POSITION next year?”. They may not reply, but I know they will appreciate.

4) Refine investment thesis: Ok, so, I haven’t really done a new deal in over a year. What do other VCs invest in these days? AI is cool but exhausting, changes like every day. Defense tech seems hot, and blowing sh*t up is fun, so maybe? Heard about “nuclear fusion” and “superconductor” – ask ChatGPT to explain those “like I’m 5”, then tweet that out, to establish thought leadership

5) Inspire: Founders love it when VCs tweet during weekends and holidays things like “How bad do you want it?” or “Hustlers never rest!”. Pre-schedule a bunch of those tweets to automatically publish throughout the year.

6) Be a VC leader: Founders calling me all the time gets annoying, but I always have time for journalists. On the record, comment on VC firms doing layoffs or shutting down and say it’s “healthy for the industry”, but doesn’t affect me because I’m “top quartile”. Off the record, give the journalist a list of GPs who beat me on deals as examples of folks who are “in serious trouble”.

7) Stay fit: First it was kitesurfing, then it was pickleball. These days it’s jiu-jitsu a la Zuck, Elon and Lex Fridman. Possibly also padel? Gosh, few understand the level of pressure VCs are under to perform.

8) Be a master planner: Didn’t do a good job planning last year. Designer clothes showed up late at Art Basel, didn’t get my usual suite upgrade at the Crosby Hotel in SoHo, and missed the best DJ set at Slush. Do better in 2024. Upgrade my boat setup for Mykonos this Summer, and be the ultimate “man in the marina”.

Happy new year! LFG 2024!

P.S. Holding myself to the highest standard year after year, see 2023 VC resolutions, 2022 VC resolutions

My VC Resolutions for 2023

1) Update public profiles: remove any reference to ever having ever liked crypto/web3, deny any rumors that I was claiming to be “down the rabbit hole” less than a year ago, say that I would have “definitely done deep due diligence” on FTX

2) Show thought leadership: tweet incessantly about Generative AI, change my PFP to a Lensa avatar, talk about how GPT-4 is “insanely mind-blowing” (reminder: cold email OpenAI to actually get early access to GPT-4)

3) Add value: advise CEOs to (a) grow at least as fast as before, but also (b) drastically cut all costs. Use terms like “EBITDA” and “FCF” which I just learned about in 2022. It’s all about “responsible growth” now (hint that I always advocated for it, deep down)

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My VC resolutions for 2022

1. Be a mentor: give interns the chance to ghost-write my meme tweets and Web3 thought leadership posts

2. Improve work/life balance: minimize non-public effort, such as board work, due diligence

3. Show humility: use the word “humbled” more often

4. Think ahead: e.g., take pics with early stage founders for future “how it started, how it’s going” IPO posts

5. Be proactive: e.g, remove names of unsuccessful investments from all my social profiles

6. Listen more: speaking 90% of the time in meetings is too much – 80% is plenty

7. Share knowledge: be better at telling founders what to do based on my own experience as a founder 17 years ago in a different industry

8. Add value: reply to every single founder question with 🚀🚀🚀

Happy new year everyone, let’s go!

I am a VC. Here’s my daily routine.

I am a venture capitalist. Here’s my daily routine.

8am: Wake up hungover from a crypto dinner.

While in bed, tweet how refreshed I feel from a great night on my Eightsleep and my 1-hour morning meditation.

9am: look at my reflection in the mirror and say “you are *not* getting disrupted by Tiger”. Repeat 10x, increasingly loudly.

10am: Look at the list of deal announcements on VC newsletters. Feel vaguely nauseous. “Should have done that one”. Then “oh, that one, too. And probably that one…”

11am: Haven’t tweeted in a while. Time for some thought leadership. What would Naval say?

11:30am: Debate how to reach out to a founder to tell them I “heard good things”. Email? Too cheugy. Text? Creepy. Telegram? Bit desperate. Signal? This job is so hard.

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A guide to understanding founder/VC fundraising conversations

VCs:

“Let’s take it from the top” = I have not read your deck

“There’s a lot to unpack here” = I have no idea what you just said

“We’re a very collaborative VC firm” = who else is in?

“Before VC, I was an operator” = I was a product manager for 9 months at YouTube, 10 years after it was acquired

“We can move aggressively” = we’ll take our time unless you’re also talking to Tiger?

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