Conversation

33) And, in some sense, trust your gut. I’ve sometimes felt dread dealing with a VC. In retrospect, that was almost always a good sign to run away. And I’ve sometimes been really impressed, and felt great. Lean into that.

34) There are some Fifth VCs I’ve run into. Many of them are partners of SRM: projectserum.com. Some I wouldn’t have expected to be. But you can tell when someone really genuinely believes in you: their thoughts and arguments flow freely and powerfully.

35) There’s a parallel with community members. Those of you in the FTX community and chats can attest to how much impact Burg, and Dante, and Adebayo have had; way more impact than a random guy with 100k Twitter followers.

36) That’s the kind of partner you want: someone who sees what you see, and believes in you, and will fight for you. And yeah, it doesn’t hurt if they’ll also write you a big check.

37) Don’t fall for the classic VC pitch: we will grace you with our investment of $10, and you will give us 40% of your equity, because we are VCs, and you are a Company, and that is how we dance with each other. Find the partners you want.

38) And if you need funding, sure, raise from whoever! There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you do actually need the funds, and are raising the amount you need.