On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:
- Rob Rueckert
- Alan Patricof
- Ilya Strebulaev
We asked guests for the most important piece of advice that they’d share with folks early in their venture career.
The hosts of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.
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Transcribed with AI:
00:00:18:24 – 00:00:36:12
Welcome back to TFR. On today’s special segment, we ask guests for the most important piece of advice that they’d share with folks early in their venture career. Here’s a segment called Key Advice.
00:00:36:12 – 00:00:59:13
On today’s special segment, we have Rob Reichert of Sorenson Capital. Rob, if you could share one piece of advice with a young new investor, what would you tell them? You know, it sounds really simple, but to be to be sincere, courteous and kind. And that doesn’t sound like a finance job, right? That sounds different than that. But if you’re young in your career, listen, be curious.
00:00:59:14 – 00:01:16:07
Try to learn. Kind of keep your mouth shut for the most of the time. And when you do speak, speak about something you know you’re in the stage of your career where you get to learn from really, really smart people, whether it be people you work with at your firm or just the CEOs that you have the opportunity to work with.
00:01:16:09 – 00:01:39:22
So, you know, listen and be curious about what they’re doing. Really learn a lot, and just be a kind person. This is a great career where, good people are rewarded and jerks are not. So don’t. Yeah. So don’t be a jerk. Just be kind. You be an authentically good person. And I can’t think of any better advice to give to a young person.
00:01:39:24 – 00:02:00:10
I love that. I think there have been some successful jerks, but I think that that generation is is phasing out. Yeah. And, you know, every once in a while, you’ll have a jerk that’s tremendously successful. And I put quotes around successful because they’re successful in business. They may not be successful at life. And I think the goal is to be successful both.
00:02:00:12 – 00:02:01:15
That’s great.
00:02:07:03 – 00:02:27:09
On today’s special segment, we have Alan Patrick Coffin, Abby Miller Levy of Primetime. Alan and Abby, if you could share one piece of advice with a young new investor, what would you tell them? You know, I was going to say something before. I’m not sure it’s exactly the answer you want for that question, but you asked me before about whatever I learned at primetime.
00:02:27:10 – 00:03:02:08
I did learn that in primetime. I learned really great craft, but I still apply it. And I think you did I before. Maybe I’ll make you get somebody questions on is about you know are we do we invest believed to be going boards. We don’t ever go on boards. I learned it took me 25 years really to learn that a venture investor we used to and I’m sure to this day, every venture capitalist, when they’re talking to a potential investor will say we are a value added investor.
00:03:02:08 – 00:03:20:07
We do. We help with finding an orderly company. We help find a lawyer. We help them boards to get all these things and I learned it took me a long time and I was one of those. And then if there were two venture firms who were they would both tell the same story and they’d fight with each other to go on the board.
00:03:20:09 – 00:03:45:11
So so you led them in many cases with two venture people on the board, in some cases three venture guys same. And seen that. And I learned that in the venture stage the board means absolutely nothing. Having the access to and having the ear of the president is important. Being present and having being able to speak and offer your opinion is valuable.
00:03:45:16 – 00:04:09:14
But voting and being on the audit committee and being on all the other committees you can think of really don’t provide any value because I’ve never seen a venture board that’s 2 to 1, three two, 3 to 2, 5 to 3. Venture investor has really no power to make a decision. The entrepreneur. And if they don’t, they’re crazy.
00:04:09:16 – 00:04:36:01
Has the votes in the early stage of building a company. And so I decided early on why fight for this board sees this. It doesn’t really mean anything. And I said, we’re not going to take board seats unless we’re pressed. And we have been I have been not just me. Abby is pressed every day to go on a board, but we do take observer seats and we love it.
00:04:36:01 – 00:04:57:17
If someone really wants us to be on a board to help them find someone from the industry, or someone who can really play a role, and without telling them how to vote, because the votes are going to be the only out. So I think that’s an important lesson to learn. And you don’t have to fight for something. At the same time, we told every other venture firm in this day we say, you lead.
00:04:57:19 – 00:05:16:08
You go on the board. We’re we’re a very popular firm. We don’t we’re not going to fight you for leadership. We’re not going to fight you for the board seat. We’re just going to be a good partner. And I think that’s a I don’t know, a long answer, but I would give that suggestion to anyone in the venture business to learn that early on.
00:05:16:08 – 00:05:36:24
It took me a long time to realize it. And, so which we may be, I’m not sure. I think we’re on one board or two boards in an out of 35. But we’re the room board happens probably in, well, at least 30 of them. Well, it’s taken me ten years of interviewing VC, but we’ve arrived at the same conclusion at.
00:05:42:12 – 00:06:09:22
On today’s special segment we have Elias Dribbles of Stanford. Ilya, if you could share one piece of advice with a new founder, what would you tell him? One piece of stuff, but obviously one that comes to my mind right now is truly become venture minded, because the smart receipts and smart angel investors who will look at your startup venture mind it, they in fact sometimes even without realizing.
00:06:09:22 – 00:06:32:00
So they’re using all those principles were identified in our book. And if you are not venture minded, I think it’s a much lower chance that you will convince them. And some founders, you know what? They’re just venture minded because of their nature. And others need to acquire this need to learn the tricks of the trade. So that is my one piece of advice to any new founder.
00:06:32:00 – 00:07:16:21
That will conclude this installment of investors stories. If you’re enjoying the program and would like to see it continue, take a moment and leave a five star review in iTunes. Okay, that will wrap things up for today. Until next time. Overprepare. Choose carefully and invest confidently. Thanks for joining me.
