Earlier this week I had a conversation with @Harrystebbings, host of @20minVC, about company building. If you haven't had a chance to listen, wanted to share some of my thoughts thetwentyminutevc.com/vinodkhosla/
For @khoslaventures, venture assistance means surrounding founders with the support they need to build a much larger company. A few small nudges left or right can change the trajectory of a company by hundreds of percent.
Know why you want to be a founder. Maybe you want to make lots of money. Maybe you have a mission you really care about, that's the kind of founder we like. Like Pat Brown of @ImpossibleFoods, or @Jack of @Square, or @patrickc and @collision of @stripe.
Whatever your reason for being a founder, be obstinate about your mission, but be flexible in your tactics.
A good board won’t be hypocritically polite. They should be brutally honest, challenge your thinking, offer a different POV, and address concerns, risks, or opps you’re struggling with. I try and do this 1:1 with founders because I find most boards don't operate this way.
Most board members advise startups to reduce risk in a way where you can increase the probability of success, but make the consequences of that success inconsequential. There's a big difference between going for a much bigger play or a safer more conservative play.
There's a reason large innovations come from startups. Big companies don't take the large risk. When they run into problems, they avoid it, change direction, get conservative, or move onto something different. A startup has to survive, and survival is the mother of invention.
I gave a presentation at our CEO Summit last year on 100 companies in our portfolio building cool and impactful tech that most VCs would be afraid to invest in. If I can have an impact, it's the most valuable and rewarding thing I can do. khoslaventures.com/amazing-what-k…
Lastly, more risk is a good thing, it's where the larger opportunity lies. Nonlinear returns matter, don't be afraid of it because other people are in one place where markets aren't efficient. thetwentyminutevc.com/vinodkhosla/
