Founders need to be ambitious and there’s nothing wrong with “going big,” but this mindset can lead to bad decisions and negative consequences at the early stage.
/1
/1
Every billion-dollar business first needs to become a million-dollar business.
Often, the $1B+ opportunity isn’t even clear until you’ve gotten to $10M, or even $100M in revenue.
You can’t skip over these phases & those who try usually fail rather than going big.
/2
Often, the $1B+ opportunity isn’t even clear until you’ve gotten to $10M, or even $100M in revenue.
You can’t skip over these phases & those who try usually fail rather than going big.
/2
Many founders have missed out on life-changing exits because they were prematurely funded to the point where the only viable win condition is a billion-dollar exit.
/3
/3
Don’t pick a small opportunity, but the decision to “go big” only makes sense after you’ve built a commercial engine where a dollar in predictably equals $2+ out.
/4
/4
It’s a rational decision after years of building the business, curating a team, and when you truly understand what opportunities are before you and how to act on them.
/5
/5
It’s ludicrous to “go big” because you’re in the fortunate position of having investors excited about your space and the fact you’ve strung together three-quarters of VC-fueled topline growth. Dreaming together about a big outcome isn’t the same as executing now.
/6
/6
All too frequently, what looks like a billion-dollar opportunity is a mirage.
There might still be a great $100M exit, but founders often find themselves locked out of these opportunities because they bought into the “go big or go home” BS.
/7
There might still be a great $100M exit, but founders often find themselves locked out of these opportunities because they bought into the “go big or go home” BS.
/7
Our portfolio has done best when we’ve had multi-billion-dollar exits.
I want to back founders who have grand ambitions.
But I can think of many founders who built generational wealth with *far* smaller exits.
/8
I want to back founders who have grand ambitions.
But I can think of many founders who built generational wealth with *far* smaller exits.
/8
And other founders who weren’t sure they were going to build a really big business until it was clear that they were already doing so.
/9
/9
The ability to think big is an important skill for entrepreneurs, but it’s a pretty common one.
The ability to take calculated risks that grow the business while executing in the moment and maintaining optionality is much more rare — and valuable.
/End
The ability to take calculated risks that grow the business while executing in the moment and maintaining optionality is much more rare — and valuable.
/End
