Spearhead
68 episodes — Page 1 of 2
Rapidly Growing Valuations Shouldn't Scare You Off
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/rapid
Reading Social Proof Is an Art Form
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/art
Ep 66Social Proof Is a Valid Signal
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/social-proof
Ask About the Metrics They're Not Showing You
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/metrics
It's Easy to Exaggerate Early Traction
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/exaggerate
Everything Is a Proxy for Traction
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/traction
Early Winners Don't Always Make It to the Finish Line
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/finish
Invest in the First Credible Mover
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/credible
Monopolies Fall When Platforms Shift
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/platform
A Lot of Great Tech Businesses Are Natural Monopolies
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/monopolies
Great Companies Expand Their Markets
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/market
Invest in $0 Billion Companies
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/zero-billion
Invest in Pure Tech Companies
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/pure
Raising Money Without Any Product Is a Red Flag
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/pre-product
Product Is the Resume of the Team
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/product
Expanding Fast vs. Dialing in the Model
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/expand
In PayPal's Early Days, We Lost Money on Every Transaction
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/PayPal
Get the Operation Working at a Small Scale
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/small-scale
'Tech-Enabled' Often Means Thin Margins
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/margins
Startups Didn't Have to be Good at Accounting Until Software Ate the World
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/accounting
You Can't Optimize Profits If There Are No Profits to Optimize
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/scale
Negative Unit Economics Create the Illusion of Success
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/unit-economics
Startups Are Susceptible to 'Happy Talk'
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/happy-talk
Mature Your Culture as You Grow
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/culture
Nobody Wants to Give a Founder Tough Love
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/tough-love
Founder Psychology Is at the Heart of Most Blitzfails
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/crazy
Culture Is a Macrocosm of the Founder's Psychology
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/psychology
Micro-Bubbles Are Constantly Building and Bursting
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/micro-bubble
'High-Burn Startup Meets Macro-Shock' Is a Recipe for Blitzfail
ETranscript: http://spearhead.co/macro-shock
Moving Fast May Mean You're Not Really Moving at All
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/fast
Startups Are a Race to Get to Scale
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/race
Blitzfail: Why Startups Go off the Rails
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/blitzfail
Repeat Founders Don't Really Want to Start Over From Scratch
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/repeat
'First-Time Founders' Often Have Been Tinkering for Quite a While
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/repeat
Avoid Teams That Would Sell Early
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/early
Founders Almost Can't Be Referenced
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/references
Your Reputation Is Built by the Companies That Are Doing Poorly
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/reputation
Coachability Is Overrated
Transcript: http://spearhead.co/coachability
You're Not Investing in Nice People
Invest in people with high energy, intelligence and integrity. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/nice
Invest Only in Technical Teams
If there's no technical team, you're not investing in technology. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/technical
Invest in the Smartest Scientists in a New Field
You're not going to become a great tech investor by reading TechCrunch. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/scientists
Don't Fantasize About What You Would Do If You Were the Founder
You're not running the company—you're betting on the founder. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/fantasize
You'll Get Less Money in Your Winners
Always try to get your standard bite-size. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/winners
You Can Give Every Deal One Fatal Flaw
A startup that breaks all the rules won't get anywhere. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/flaw
The Best Deals Look Weird
If nobody thinks it looks weird, you're making a consensus investment. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/weird
Judgment Requires a Willingness to Be Unpopular
Groupthink leads to poor judgment. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/unpopular
Are Good Investors Piling in the Round with You?
It's a sign of good judgment when proven investors pile into the round. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/pile
Pivots Mean Your People Judgment Really Matters
Bets on seed-stage startups are bets on founders. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/pivots
Judgment Is the Work You Do Before a Deal Arrives
Over time you'll need less data to assess a deal. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/preparation
Judgment Gives You the Winning Lottery Numbers
But you still need a portfolio effect to be successful. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/lottery