Torry Webb, co-managing director of VSeed Capital Partners, shares why founders need to nail team building and execution first. He spends 30-60+ hours on due diligence and cuts out "time robbers" ruthlessly. His mantra: do the dishes first, then change the world.
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Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Tory Webb with us. He is a lifelong entrepreneur and the co-managing director of VSeed Capital Partners, a pre-seed and early-stage venture fund that is focused on new and early-stage ventures. So welcome to the show, man.
Hey, thank you, Tyler Wagner.
Of course, grateful to have you here. We'll dive into the first one. The first question I have for you, Tori, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
The best story? Well, I don't know if it's the best story, but it's kind of funny and it does have a valuable underlying message. In 1987, I was stationed in South Korea serving in the Army. I was stationed at Camp Greaves near the DMZ and I was training pretty seriously in Taekwondo at the time and I decided to begin competing on a Korean circuit over there and I was a pretty lean 162 pounds My instructor with 50+ years of experience suggested that I drop 15 pounds in the weight class and I said, "No, I didn't need to." And he said, "Okay." And that was that. And a few weeks later, my first competition rolled around and I thought I was pretty special until I got knocked out about 30 seconds into the first round. So, yeah, it was brutal. A very humbling experience but The underlying message there is listen to the voice of experience. Listen to those that have been there and done that.
Yeah. Oh man. The next one I have for you is, what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
The industry. We're unique in the venture fund industry. We have a unique program, a unique model that helps investors do things on a much smaller scale, uh, and at the same time helping entrepreneurs. But the key to that mission on both sides of the fence is our proprietary due diligence process. And we don't just look at core elements of opportunities, we look at all the little details that most people don't. And the challenge for, for most investors, uh, and entrepreneurs is they don't take the time to that, you know, it might take 30 to 60 hours to properly drill down on, on that kind of detail on an investment or a venture, maybe longer. And most people simply don't have that kind of time. But, but just for advice, I would, I would tell people, make sure you do your due diligence, make sure you do your homework on it, on everything that you do.
And, um, you know, considering that you are kind of focused on early-stage ventures, and I would say like maybe like startups and stuff, what's your best piece of advice for, uh, just stay in your like zone of genius here, like of somebody just starting out, and you're also a lifelong entrepreneur. So, somebody just starting out in the entrepreneur world or startup scene, like what would be the first thing you tell them?
I actually get this question quite a bit, more than you might imagine. But I think, well, the other day I was talking with a friend of mine, the co-managing director of VC Capital, his name's Gordon Comfort, and he saw a sign, a few years ago at an event in Portland that read, "Do the dishes first, then change the world." And so when it comes to small business advice, especially for entrepreneurs and founders with the young companies and early-stage companies, the advice I would give them is focus like a laser on two things. That's building the right team and execution. I think those are probably the 2 areas where most young companies fall short and the 2 areas that probably need the most focus.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Wow, we could spend all day on that question. I often tell people, I can't always tell you what to do, but I can give you a long list of things not to do. But with that, I think the one piece of advice at this stage of the game that I would tell my younger professional self is pay close attention to activities and people who are or who become time robbers. Learn to recognize things that rob your time. You know, somebody or something is robbing your time. You know, you need to cut sling load quickly, you know, and then move on to the next thing. Don't spin your wheels on things that aren't going to help you progress towards your goal.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
The key to happiness? That's actually something I've thought about quite a bit. And I think the key to happiness— and it doesn't matter whether you're an entrepreneur or not, I don't think it matters. But I think the key is balance, spiritual, mental, physical. You know, it sounds cliché, but I think it's true. Family, friends, work, play, rest. It's all important. So, you know, try to find balance. And full disclosure, I'm not there yet. My wife would hammer me on this question, but, you know, I'm working on it. But I think that's the key.
Yeah. And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
That's actually an easy question. I'm an avid reader and read many books. Including most of the personal and professional development classics. In fact, I collect old books, but my favorite book is a 1918 first edition of Keys to Success by B.C. Forbes. He was the father of Malcolm Forbes, and you probably know the grandfather, Steve Forbes, and he was the founder of Forbes magazine. I've learned a lot from that book, Tyler. Every chapter is good, but there's a chapter, one chapter that's called Stick-to-itiveness, and that's my favorite chapter. It's a great reminder of the power of persistence and never to give up.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
My favorite quote, you know, most, you know, in the context of entrepreneurs, I think most entrepreneurs view things as an event. I know I'm guilty of that. If this, then that. I think emotion drives a lot of that thought process. However, as you probably know, most things are a process in business and in life. And I'm not sure who coined it, but I say it a lot. I say it's a process, not an event. And I think it's— we do well to keep that in mind as we try to build the things and businesses and do the things that we do.
Yes, man, I could not agree more. Thank you, uh, so much for coming on. Um, the last question I have for you before we let you go is, where's the best place for people to find and/or connect with you online?
Oh, uh, yeah, thank you, Tyler. This has been great. I think the best way for people to reach us is just go to the VC Capital website at vccapital.com, or just follow me on LinkedIn at @n-torriweb, and they can send me a an email or an in-message there.
Perfect, man. Thanks again for hopping on.
Hey, thank you, Tyler Wagner. I look forward to the next conversation.
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