Trust Beats Capital: Founders Choose Partners Over Funds
The question I have been asking myself and every founder I meet is the same one: What is your right to win? It sounds simple. It is not. The right to win is not a fixed asset. It is something you have to earn, defend, and re-earn continuously. For VCs, capital is no longer the edge. Value add is becoming a commodity too. Every fund claims the best network, the best operators, the best support. What I am seeing cut through is trust. Founders are choosing Partners over funds. The back of the jersey over the front. I have to honestly answer why a founder chooses me over a Partner at a mega fund. It will not be because of the check size, the valuation, or the value add. For founders, whatever edge your company has today will last months, not years. Maybe weeks. One founder told me recently: "If I get sick, I will miss an innovation cycle." That is not hyperbole. That is the pressure founders are operating under right now. But I do not think the answer is to run faster. I think the answer is to be clearer. Three things determine your right to win right now: 1) The quality of your feedback loop. The founders closest to their customers shift first when the market shifts. 2) The speed of your iteration, not your building. Shipping fast matters less than learning fast. 3) Founder conviction. The ones who win filter out the noise and stay on the thread. I do not think anyone has a permanent right to win right now. Not the mega funds. Not the AI incumbents. Not the breakout startups of the last two years. Not myself. The question is not whether you have a right to win. The question is what you are doing today to deserve one.
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Bedtime with My Son: Fatherhood’s Humbling Joy
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A Decade Later: Our Name Finally Graces the Wall
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Public Criticism Drives Team Performance Over Comfort
What a quote by @rabois “I believe in public criticism as it makes it a team issue and not an individual issue…High performance machines don't care about psychological safety, they are about winning…If you want to be Michael Jordan then you...

Startup Revenue Metrics Are Ambiguous; Trust Them Less
I find myself trusting founder revenue metrics less than at any point since I started investing. That includes 2021, which should tell you something. Only 1% to 2% of startups ever reach $100M in revenue. The headlines make it feel like...
True Joy Comes From Giving, Not Endless Consumption
Loved the message in church yesterday as it challenged me Consumerism is the belief that with more will make us better and happier Happiness doesn’t come from consuming, it come from producing That’s why Acts 20:35 says “It is more blessed to give...
Founder Relationships Require Olympic‑Level Endurance for Rapid Wins
Building relationships with founders is like training for the Olympics, how? You put in years of talking, dinners, events, value add, etc in order to build the relationship and be one of the first calls for a deal that could...
Claude's Reliability Falters; Funding Needed to Stay Ahead
Why does Claude not work so often?! It’s getting out of control…they need to raise more money or will lose the advantage they have right now
Drake's Return Is Hip Hop’s Long‑Awaited Revival
Drake coming back will be exactly what Hip hop needs. Regardless if you like his music, his impact on the industry is undeniable. The last top 10 hip hop song was almost a year ago. He is also a feature...

Miami Leads World in Custom Car Variety
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Think Big for a Year, Bigger for a Decade
Over estimate what can be done in a year and under estimate what can be done in a decade. Keep pushing and stay in the game.
Earn Access, Don't Expect Time—Deepen Real Relationships
No one owes you their time. Emails, DMs and social media has made many access points. If someone ghosts you then you didn’t EARN their access yet. You aren’t as close as you thought Founders get this from VCs. VCs from LPs. People...
Prioritize People over Tasks to Cherish Time
Sunday message People often look at time through themselves so they have to do to achieve If you think about success then you will only think about task At funerals people say I wish that I had more time with that...
Early Business Thoughts Disrupt Sleep, Ignite Ideas
When you wake up thinking about the business. Annoying for your sleep but powerful for your ideas.