Most venture funds start with scrappy unknowns but drift toward repeat founders and personal networks. This investor bets on two types instead: people they know well, even with little data, and strangers with strong traction. Their best returns came from this contrarian bet that most funds avoid.
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So I think the experience I've seen for most venture funds is you start off with this sort of scrappy portfolio of people that will take your money. And the longer you do it, the more well-heeled people show up in your inbox. And next thing you know, you're like a fund that mostly does repeat entrepreneurs or people that are in your network. And I just said, you know, the only gap in venture seems to be people who don't have a ton of traction and also who are strangers. And my whole thesis was, Almost anyone will write a check to their college roommate who has no data if you think the person's smart, or anybody, you know, a former coworker. If you think the person's great and they have no data, you can write a check. Or if you don't know the person at all and they have amazing traction, you can write a check. I just find most people aren't willing to write checks to people they don't know very well or people who don't have a long operating track. Mm-hmm. And I was like, but I like those checks. And if I look at my best investments, most of them look like that.
