• First tine founder on average are better because they’re more ambitious and because they don’t know what they don’t know, they don’t accept rules.
  • I think first-time founders are actually better on average, most of the best companies I've invested in are first-time founders not all, and I think part of it is ambition, part of it is you don't know what you don't know which means you don't accept any rules like once you learn too much even as an entrepreneurial person you're taking you take in some of those and they're not always right.
• The biggest mistake I made as a founder was not being as intentional about the culture at the very very beginning. Culture is like concrete. In liquid form concrete's really malleable but once it solidifies it takes like a jackhammer which is incredibly disruptive painful expensive to break.
  • The biggest mistake was not being as intentional as Mike about the culture at the very very beginning and you know I have this metaphor of culture is like concrete and in liquid form concrete's really malleable but once it solidifies it takes like a jackhammer which is incredibly disruptive painful expensive to break. I was a little too I was a lot too passive in letting the culture formulate in the first year and I really have struggled to fix that.
• The biggest mistake founders make is usually hiring the wrong person and procrastinating on correcting that person and waiting too long to have conversation.
  • The biggest mistake is usually hiring the wrong person and if you don't correct that person who's off on your culture and your values will hire like 10 more people like that and all of a sudden you've got a real problem. First initially give him strong feedback on why you're off what's not acceptable here's how you have to correct it and if not you know edit the team appropriately. I think almost every other CEO I know including ones who've been incredibly successful probably procrastinates on that conversation a little too long.
• I think investing is a little bit like playing the guitar and you can't really tell if someone can play the guitar to like pick up the guitar and so you can't read book about playing the guitar and know whether you can play the guitar.
  • You know I think investing is a little bit like playing the guitar and you can't really tell if someone can play the guitar to like pick up the guitar and so you can't read book about playing the guitar and know whether you can play the guitar or something and so I think the only way to tell is you need to get some at bats you need to try to invest you need to watch can this person identify with taste who's a world class founder can they close an interesting investment do those companies show signs of life I've yet to find a really strong proxy for that where I know how to find a world class founder I know how to evaluate a world class founder I usually know how to interview an executive etc try to identify he's going to be a world class founder so you see them actually try to do it is really really really difficult and you don't get real returns for six eight 10 years.