Today marks the end of my eighty-sixth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week eighty-six:

• Holiday push – The week before a major holiday is always busy for me. Everyone is trying to push things over the finish line before the holiday. This week was no exception. I tried to plan my schedule accordingly, but I could have done some things better. I’ll manage my calendar better the week before Christmas.    
• His way – I met with an investor this week who’s a hustler and has done things his way. He refuses to bend on his beliefs. It’s paying off for him; he’s proving everyone else wrong. Talking to him reinforced to me that there’s something to be said for standing by your beliefs, even when others question them.
• Opportunity – I’ve been thinking about how others gave me opportunities in college and early in my career that changed my trajectory. I’m thinking about how lucky I’ve been and how to provide opportunity to others.

Week eighty-six was hectic. I’m tired and glad it’s over. Looking forward to the holiday next week and some time with friends and family.

I’ve been thinking about some of the concepts I read about in Atomic Habits. I enjoyed the author’s thoughts on changing your beliefs to change your outcomes. Of central importance is identity. If you don’t believe you’re the sort of person who would take the steps (i.e., form the habits) necessary to get the outcome you want, you’re less likely to do so. I’ve been discussing this with friends. Today, one of them shared a passage from a book he’s reading:

Identity is very deeply who you are—not who someone else thinks you are or wants you to be. Your identity is how you define yourself, while your identification is how others define you. How you identify yourself does not necessarily need to match how other people identify you. While it is true that our families and communities play an important role in shaping how we see ourselves, ultimately, how others attempt to define you is no substitute for how you answer the question “Who am I” for yourself.

This resonated with me. I love how the author describes identity as who you believe you are and makes a distinction between identity and identification. Subtle, but powerful.

As I reflect on my founder friends and myself, I think this is true. We all believed we were entrepreneurs before we started companies—even when others believed we were something else. That strong sense of identity guided us to take the actions that led to starting companies and ultimately to entrepreneurial success.

Who do you believe you are?

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In the last eighteen months or so, we’ve seen asset prices increase rapidly. I’ve been having debates with friends about this. Most of them think this is a bubble and it will reverse. I think the opposite will happen: asset prices (real estate, equities, etc.) will remain elevated. Prices will go up at slower rate than we’ve seen in the last eighteen months, but they will keep increasing. I have several reasons for believing this, which I won’t get into today.

Equity (i.e., ownership) in companies is key to most investors’ strategy, and I see a change on the horizon in how they acquire it. More investors will look to invest in private companies (private equity) instead of public companies (public equity) via the stock market. The driving force will be the desire for higher returns as the stock market growth rate slows. Again, lots of reasons for this.

The private companies with the highest rate of return will likely be early-stage companies, which puts venture capital—a subset of private equity—in a position to see an influx of investor capital. Some established funds have begun taking advantage of this and have announced they’ve raised sizeable funds this year. We’ll continue to see more of these announcements, but I think we’ll see something else too: an increase in the number of investors stepping out to start their own funds for the first time. Some will come from other venture capital funds, some will be former entrepreneurs, and some will be subject matter experts in emerging fields.

Historically, experience as an investor in venture capital has been key to starting one’s own fund. Experience is hard to come by because most funds don’t have many open slots, so . . . high barrier to entry. As more investors seek equity in early-stage private companies and more capital flows into venture capital, I see this barrier being lowered. More investors will take flyers on people who have unique relationships in and understand emerging sectors well but have zero venture capital experience. Some of these new managers will fail and some—hopefully more—will succeed.

I’m not sure of the timing of all this, but I’ll be watching it closely. We could be on the cusp of a big change in venture capital!

Today I had the opportunity to participate in an event whose purpose was to give early founders candid feedback on their businesses. The founders got real-time as well as written feedback and rankings in core areas, such as vision, execution, and storytelling.

These founders have small teams, so they’re still involved in the day-to-day combat of building a company. But they spent most of today away from operations to focus on their businesses at a high level. We went over everything from go-to-market strategy to vision to hiring plans.

It was great helping these founder consider things from this perspective, and I think it was much needed by some of them. Today was a reminder of how important it is to get out of the weeds of running the business. Early founders can find themselves on a hamster wheel if they work in the business too much. They must be intentional about making time to regularly work on the business from a high level. I know this because I learned it the hard way when I was a founder.  

I’m excited for these founders and can’t wait to see what the future holds for them!

I’ve been chatting with a founder friend about a deal he’s considering doing. The seller doesn’t have any other suitors, probably because they’re asking for above-market pricing. My friend knows this and has been trying to get them to a price more aligned with the current market. All the numbers support my friend’s argument.

Today we spoke again, and he told me he’s going to try to meet them in the middle. He’ll likely end up paying more than the deal is currently worth. Not expecting this, I questioned his logic. His explanation: he’s focused on future, not current, value. He has a vision for creating more value using the asset. If he executes on it, the difference between what the deal is worth now and what he paid will be negligible. He sees a great opportunity to create a large amount of value and wants to capitalize on it quickly before someone else sees it.

Recognizing greatness is important to any founder’s success. I didn’t do it early in my journey, and it hurt me. When this founder began focusing on how great this opportunity is, it changed his thought processes, actions, and sense of urgency. I’m looking forward to seeing him create something profitable and great out of this opportunity!

I credit the help of peers with being one of the biggest factors in my success as a founder. I’m grateful I was able to connect with other founders grappling with similar issues. We shared our experiences with each other, which helped us avoid pitfalls and go further faster.

Recently, I connected with a smart founder who could benefit from hearing other founders’ experiences. As I’ve gotten to know him, I’ve learned that it’s difficult for him to watch other people win if he isn’t winning. This mindset is one of things keeping him from stepping up from being a good founder to being a great one.

I’m a huge fan of founders helping one another via peer groups. When you participate in a peer group, it’s important to be mindful that the goal isn’t to be the “best” founder in the group, it’s to be a contributing member of the group. That means learning from and supporting one another. Learning, that is, from the experiences of smart people and applying that knowledge to your own situation. And supporting each other through the highs and lows of the entrepreneurial journey.

Peer groups are amazing, and I recommend them to anyone who can tamp down their competitiveness enough to be a supportive contributing member.

I’ve connected with numerous founders who have a big vision but don’t value how vital other people are to its success. They understand they’ll need help, but how they see other people is always telling. They may view others as necessary to execute specific tasks but replaceable. They treat them as an expense line item, with the compensation, equity, and responsibility they offer reflecting that mindset.

The classic example I see is a nontechnical founder building a software company. He wants to use offshore development or hire a junior developer whom he’ll manage. He thinks he needs someone to just build a product and tries to get it done as cheaply as possible. What this founder doesn’t grasp is that the software is the company. The software is a living thing that will evolve and become more complex over time. The people building it are not just an expense. They’re critical to building and maintaining a product customers will pay to use, and they should be treated as such. And there needs to be someone at the leadership level—other than the nontechnical founder—who’s responsible for this critical part of the business and incentivized by cash and equity.

When I was a founder, I learned (the hard way) that you can go further, faster with a solid team that shares in the upside.

If you’re trying to do something great, think about how you can get the best people possible around the table to help you, not how you can spend the least amount possible. That shift in mindset could be the difference maker.

Today marks the end of my eighty-fifth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week eighty-five:

• Partnership mindset – I’m a big believer in the saying that there are no perfect people, only perfect teams. This week reminded me that partnership is important to doing something great. The partnership journey isn’t always easy, so alignment early on is important. You might disagree on how to get there, but you can compromise because you know you’re both trying to get to the same place.  
• Hustle – I meet with founders and investors every week. The ones who are hustlers consistently stand out. Hustle is a big part of their success. I noticed this again this week.    
• Common threads – Wrote about this a bit this week. Finding ways to relate to people has been helpful in getting to know them. I do this naturally, but I want to be more intentional about it.
• Giving back – I was able to give back and help somebody out this week, and it felt good. I’m rooting for him and expecting him to do amazing things in life and business.

Week eighty-five was a good one. I was in a groove and made progress on important things. I hope to repeat that next week.

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I had a meeting with another investor recently. His journey to investor wasn’t easy. I love hearing stories like this. They show you how people are wired and who they really are. I wanted to hear his story so I could understand him better and see if I could be of assistance.

The call began normally and was cordial, but he wasn’t opening up. Then he mentioned a small detail that made me realize we might have experienced something similar earlier in life. So, I shared my experience. Sure enough, he said he’d had a similar one. From that point on, the conversation changed. We were able to relate and get to know one another via a common thread.

I appreciate this reminder that finding ways to relate to people is important. Doing so can completely change a conversation (or start it off on the right foot). More importantly, it can be a powerful tool in helping you build relationships and understand who people really are (as opposed to how they want to be perceived).

Over the last eighteen months, I’ve noticed a trend. More people are actively self-educating. They’re owning filling their knowledge gaps in areas that interest them. I’ve personally talked to people learning about personal finance, starting a nonprofit, building a real estate portfolio, and a host of other things. To be clear, I’m not saying self-education is new, but I’m seeing an increased comfort level with and desire for it.

I think that overall, this is a good trend. Knowledge is power, and people are seeking out the knowledge they feel they need to empower themselves. It will change some of their lives. Platforms—YouTube, Twitter, and others—give subject-matter experts a mode of distribution (and monetization) that’s readily accessible to the masses.

How people think about education is on the cusp of massive change. Instead of the masses accepting curriculums set without their input, we’ll start to see more people embracing a bespoke approach. Many people will take ownership of their educational paths earlier and zero in on things that interest them earlier. Lots of this education will be done via digital platforms that allow people to learn the latest thinking from people worldwide.

I’m excited about following this trend and think it could have broad impact.