Issue No. 2: Dangerous Fundraising Tactics, Cap Table Strategy, and Unintended Consequences of Approval Seeking
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Hey Everyone!
Welcome to Edition No. 2 of my client-only newsletter. Thank you to everyone who gave feedback on edition no. 1. A good number of you all are fundraising right now, so I tried to pick a few links that provide some good context on the current fundraising environment.Â
I've also included a new graphic that I've shared the idea behind verbally with a bunch of you, and I think I'll do more of these in the future.
Things I Found This Week (That You Might Find Interesting)
David Ulevitch, Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, on the danger of "manufactured" demand in the fundraising process.
My friend Paul Millerd tweeted an excerpt of Epictetus on the unintended consequences of looking for approval from other people.
John Danner (again) with a terrific thread on fundraising, specifically on what/who you really want on your cap table. John continues to be one of my favorite clear-headed thinkers in this market.Â
Network Asks
Compensation Data: I usually refer folks to Option Impact and Levels.FYI, but if you know of a good source of comp. data for sales or engineering, I'd love to be able to share it with clients I coach!
Highlight Reel Video Referrals: One client is looking for referrals to folks who can create a "sizzle reel" or highlight video for a new product release.Â
Recruiter Referrals: Lots of folks have been asking for good recruiter recommendations. I know this is a bit like asking for the contact info of your best engineer so others can recruit them, so no sweat if you're not comfortable sharing. But I know some folks in my client base would be super grateful if you'd be willing to share anyone you've worked with who has gotten results.
Things Coming Up a Lot
Wellness / Performance Axis: I’m currently taking Shirzad Chamine’s Positive Intelligence class with a few other coaches, and he briefly talked about how many high performers (athletes, musicians, CEOs) think about their career progress in terms of performance and often neglect how wellness factors in. Inspired by this, I drew up a graphic and an exercise as some food-for-thought.
As always, share feedback liberally. I’m looking forward to what’s next.
Andy.