20 years of Panic

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

https://panic.com/blog/the-2016-panic-report/

Really good read from some great people. I totally hope to visit their office if we hit Portland in June.

The post has some great stuff about their 20 years which in and of itself is just amazing. It does suck about iOS and I just don’t see it changing anytime soon. I must admit that I am getting more work done on my Mac and buying stuff for it more often then stuff for iOS. Maybe a mindset of sorts where one thinks they do more of their real work on macOS and are willing to buy more tools for it versus the iPhone. Not sure but this does create an issue for folks like Panic.

However the paragraph that stands out the most for me is this one:

Defining roles is important. What happens when you’re truly a “flat” organization and you have a bunch of incredibly smart people that can all offer valuable input on almost every task happening at any one time? Things can actually slow down a little at times. You want the right people on the right tasks, and you want someone who can make tough decisions and process the possibilities. It’s possible we’ve outgrown complete flatness. We’ll be experimenting with this more into the future, although it’s so tricky — you don’t want people feeling excluded, and you don’t want to extinguish the passion of creating!

I am guessing this is a just a matter of size. When teams are small flat can work but as teams grow one wants process and some level of authority. Flat tends to mean that everyone chimes in or has an opinion which of course takes more time. However people like to be included. Moving from flat to not flat can create the feeling of exclusion. Moving from flat to not flat might be more painful than starting out not flat.

I don’t have the answers and will be watching to see if Cabel posts more on this as Panic evolves.

Stemming from my product days I am always geeking out on managing people in tech. As I moved to VC I find it much easier. I tend to think of the team as more collective or partnership than boss/employee or manager/employee but again I wonder if this is ideal or can scale. Fortunately for VC the teams don’t get that big since a small team can scale in VC given how it works.

As always there is much to learn.

More struggle, less hustle

~ michael_msft ~ 1 Comment

I have been on a digital detox and in a 5 day yoga program. Been killing me but I have slowly seen some progress over 5 days which is pretty amazing for me. I think it is the concentration of daily sessions plus workshops to dissect one pose and with a pro showing you how to fix it. Hopefully I can take some of this back with me and keep it going.

One thing thing dawned on me though, normally I will watch people in a class and marvel at their pose and feel a tad bit deflated over the looks of my poses. Reminding me I am new to this, 16 months in to my yoga, and that I have so far to go. However, once we had the workshops that focused on fixing people’s poses I was amazed that many of the people who look like they are doing the pose right are not actually struggling. For those not into yoga, the idea is that each pose should push your own body and should hurt just a little. Not in a painful I am breaking something kind of way but in a simple personal struggle sort of way.

If you are not feeling it just a little, you probably are not doing it right.

Once the master had fixed everyone’s poses you could see that many of the people looked much different and were groaning a lot more. He corrected the pose so that everyone was back to their own personal struggle. I actually realised that my poses look not so great but that I am feeling it and slowly I am getting the pose right. It’s all about being in the pose and struggling – something no one may see but you certainly will feel.

I like to think that the startup world needs to do this a little more. I see the hustle all the time, the press releases, the vanity metrics, the blog posts and the showing up to speak at every event. Not saying this is not useful stuff or part of the journey but at the same time the startup needs to correct their poses and focus inward a bit more. Most of the important stuff the folks around you can’t see. There is also no point in promoting it.

It’s the struggle to fix the funnel, find ways to increase productivity, figure out how to get your employees to communicate better, better the right metrics and fine tune product/market fit. These things are not easy but as you look back over the years you will feel the incremental improvements and realize these are the things that need the most attention.

One more session before heading home…

The Upstarts

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Of course I am on a semi digital De-Tox but need to update on my latest read. Probably one of the better books I have read in quite some time. Brad is a unique and gifted storyteller. I couldn’t put down The Everything Store and I am having the same feeling about The Upstarts.

Such a history lesson and as an Apprentice VC – I find it all very inspiring.

Ask A VC #6

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Question:

I am doing a startup and need capital. I understand I need to raise from angels or friends and family and I am curious your thoughts on the friends and family part?

Answer:

Good one. My advice is to really think the friends and family part through. I normally see them as a last resort since if you take money from them and your startup goes south, which is quite probable, then these people may not want to be your friend anymore and at the next Christmas dinner you may find some disgrunlted family members as well.

I think it is best to first find incubator, grant money or a professional angel network since these groups might force you to come up with a better plan before funding since they have seen many startups. This would be better than potential F&F money where they probably can’t help you with your business or idea all that much. Then as you raise from more porfessional sources and your idea continues to live, coming to the F&F connections might be less risky.

Maybe you have a rich friend or family member and they are interested in funding startups and they want to help you, but make sure you do it all properly like any other investor. Don’t let is get personal. Use a proper investment vehicle like a note and be sure to have similar terms for all parties. Also stay away from loans or any thing that promises pay back as other investors come in. Nothing scares of institutional investors more than seeing a deal where early investors get to cash out with new money coming in.

 

Don’t listen to Vivek

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Vivek, after trying to fix the gender diversity issues in tech, has now turned is attention to bashing Apple in regards to their India business. Here is his latest rant :: http://factordaily.com/apple-fail-india-iphone/

I love the catchy headline.

I was gonna dig into this one but many people beat me to it, but I think this is the best one :: https://nuclearbits.com/vivek-wadhwas-factor-daily-piece-titled-apple-destined-fail-india/

This dude is so full of crap now he is like the boy who cried wolf. No one listens.

Debt

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

I don’t watch his shows but have always loved Anthony Bourdain’s books. Kitchen Confidential is among my most favorite books ever. It could be that as a teenager I worked in a kitchen for many years and the book appealed to my culture that I was experiencing at the time.

I do love hearing the inside story of people and this latest from Anthony on wealth, money, debt and enjoying life is pure gold :: https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-us/magazine/money-diary-anthony-bourdain

That was really the first time I started thinking about saving money. About not finding myself in that terrifying space, that uncertainty that goes back to childhood. Will the car get fixed? Will we be able to pay for tuition? In very short order, I contacted the IRS and I paid what I owed. I paid American Express. Since that time, I am fanatical about not owing anybody any money. I hate it. I don’t want to carry a balance, ever. I have a mortgage, but I despise the idea. That was my biggest objection to buying property, though I wasn’t in the position to pay cash.

Getting my first mortgage also freaked me out due to the debt load. I always borrowed for cars too and just figured it was about building credit worthiness. Fortunately I have never lost my shirt on a house deal. But I know so many people that became “house poor” or defaulted on a mortgage.

One of the wonderful things about my agent, Kim Witherspoon, is she always presents me with two options when approaching a business deal, particularly when it comes to books. She’ll say, ”Look, you could go with these guys and get a whole shitload of money upfront, or you could go with these guys, which is the morally right and loyal thing to do, and negotiate an amount of money that fits in with what we actually think you’re going to sell.” I like to make money for my partners.

It’s amazing to hear how he cares about everyone making money. Not just himself.

I’d like my daughter and her mom looked after, both while I’m alive and after. They shouldn’t have to worry if something bad happens, so my investments and savings are based on that. I’m super-conservative. Money doesn’t particularly excite or thrill me; the making of money gives me no particular satisfaction. To me, money is freedom from insecurity, freedom to move, time if you choose to make use of time. My investments advisor understands that I’m not looking to score big on the stock market or bonds. I have zero understanding of it and zero interest. Life is too short. I like a limited amount of mail, and a limited amount of conversations with people who make the investments. If the money’s not less money every time I look at it, I’m pretty happy. If it’s a little bit more, great.

That’s the best part for me. The family first mantra and the I want to have fun while I am alive. Life is too short – I need to constantly remind myself of that.

Sounds like a cool dude.

Ask A VC #5

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Question:

What’s the split between companies funded where you guys approach them / and those who approach you?

Answer:

Tough one to answer. In general it’s always a little bit of both. There are people you know about working on stuff but not looking to raise. You establish a rapport and hopefully stay in touch so when they do raise they call you. Potentially you just check in often and ask. 😉

Other times you only hear about a company when they call or email you looking for money. One hopes we would do better and find these companies before they ask but that will not always happen.

The purpose of having a good network and being seen around the town a bit is that your network will bring you deals before the companies go looking or bring them to you first.

We are a young firm though so lot’s of everything is going on and we continue to focus on getting better at what we do which should also lead to quality deal flow.

Ask A VC #4

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Question:

Do you put money keeping existing portfolio in mind or it’s the idea that you fund.

Answer:

Hopefully I have the context right on this one. First off, we would not fund a competitor to a portfolio company. Given that, yes we have to think about the existing portfolio at all times. Further to that, as a fund matures we have to essentially go into portfolio construction mode to be sure we have placed enough bets across the ranges we care about and start to find companies in area we want to invest in but have yet to make an investment.