I feel like there are two types of founders. Those that like to be founders and those that don’t care about being a founder and love what they do. I guess there is some gray area, there always is, but…actually I’ve never seen it, it’s one or the other.
The founders that like being founders talk about being founders. They go to “founders” meet ups. They pitch. They LOVE to pitch. They subscribe to the concept that being a founder means pitching your company and raising money all the time. Basically, that’s their job – raising money. Install any company and what it does, it kind of doesn’t matter. It’s more about the whole VC world; keep pitching, speak the language, raise money, hit numbers, spend the money to get more money.
These people are assholes.
Oh man, I can’t say that. They aren’t, they are just not not assholes.
I am joking for the most part. But VCs are wrong about 95% of the time(it’s 99.99%). They are people who gamble on ideas and want some sort of 10x return and they give bad advice and they generally don’t have much value to add other than somehow having a connection (and likely a background that lends itself) to money. Meaning they went to a school that works for that sort of thing and know people in that world. It’s similar to when you see actors kids on TV – I’m sure they are talented but let’s be real, having Uma Thurman as your mom definitely gets you on Stranger Things more than not being Uma Thurman’s kid. That kid knows the deal, so she gets the deal, and the world keeps on spinning, NBD.
Then there are founders who find the VC world strange. They are too busy building a business and caring about their product and customers and actually building a company.
If you find yourself pitching a lot, working on your ‘pitch deck’ or thinking about your next raise, ask yourself this one question “Am I being a dick?”
The answer is yes, you are.
Think about these things instead. Are my customers inspired? Are my employees inspired? Is my product or service inspiring? Because if they are, your pitch is this…”my company is inspiring everyone it touches, my company is a fucking cult! If you want to invest, cool, but I kind of don’t need you.”
If you are inspiring, you are making money, or you’re about to make money. And if you need someone else’s money to do that, which sucks, find someone who is equally inspired. Find a customer to invest. Find an industry leader. Don’t pitch “investors”. Find someone inspired, like you and your customers and your employees.
Don’t be a founder, be a founder.
Thanks for you time.
Matt Smith has built and sold a few companies and doesn’t like VCs or pitching.