If you constantly complain that you are not good at XYZ, it means you don’t care enough.
You can get good at anything you want to.
Here’s how I went from being cripplingly shy, to being able to speak in front of ten thousand people:
One of my mentors and early investors in justintv, @paultoo (inventor of gmail), told me this:
“It's not about your Y intercept. It's about what your slope is.”
In other words, it's not about where you start; it's about how fast you're growing - your rate of progression is what really determines your ultimate outcome.
I've raised over $150,000,000 as a founder, simply by being a good storyteller.
Here's how to get VC's to throw money at you:
A big mistake founders make is thinking that the purpose of a deck is to get people to invest.
The truth is that whoever is reading your deck is likely distracted/not interested. Your job is to stand out, and make them excited.
Figure out ways to communicate things in very simple ways - it could be through simple language, numbers, clear visualization elements, or being creative in your presentation.
Do you suspect that the startup you're working at is a fraud? Do you have to fire your best friend's romantic partner?
I'm starting an anonymous startup advice column for your wildest/insane startups-related stories and questions:
Dear OnlyFriends is a weekly segment where myself, @eshear, @mwseibel, and @nicolefarb give our take on what you should do next as a founder, investor, or at your 9 to 5.
This is our version of r/trueoffmychest, r/AmItheAsshole, and Blind - we'll pick the wildest ones and talk about it on my show, OnlyFriends on YouTube.