I did a talk with a private community of 100 GPs and investors in venture capital called Aces last week. It’s an off-the-record, confidential group organized by a few people, including Max Beaumont, who said I could mention him in this post.
Max sent me the following summary. I asked him if I could post it, and he said yes.
Thank you again for taking the time to join us yesterday, and for staying well past the scheduled end.. I could tell how meaningful the conversation was for those who stayed..
A few takeaways that stuck with me:
- Venture ≠ Asset Management – The game has drifted from backing outlier founders to chasing AUM. A painful reset might be needed before things get healthy again.
- Build a firm you enjoy – Not one optimized for market cycles. Sovereign wealth and busted endowments will keep distorting VC until liquidity dries up. Best to play your own game.
- Absurdism as antidote – Life is inherently absurd, so stop optimizing for status. Just be here now, with people you actually like.
- Beware the “grinfuckers” – Never tell people what they want to hear just to “gain.” The long game is living in alignment with your own beliefs.
- Stop passively avoiding – If something’s broken, confront it quickly. Avoidance only prolongs the pain.
Very grateful for your time and most importantly, your candor.. I find it hard to get “real” answers from most GPs today.. Too much incentive to bullshit. You were refreshing.
While there is plenty to unpack in each of those bullet points, especially since the conversation went on for about an hour (instead of the scheduled 30 minutes), the bolded headlines are an excellent summary of several of my core beliefs. None of this was scripted, thought through in advance, and all was summarized from Max’s perspective. I’m sure how I explained some things wasn’t as precise as if I had sat and written a long blog post about it.
So, look at the bold and apply your frame of reference to it. I’ve already written about The Cost of Passive Avoidance, so maybe there will be posts on the other topics, although I’ve also already covered Grinfuckers in the past.