Role Reversal: From VC to Founder

You’ve been there right? A founder with an awesome idea and 10x potential sets out on a journey to go from zero to unicorn status in breakneck speed. Some call that Blitzscaling.

Blitzscaling is a specific set of practices for igniting and managing dizzying growth; an accelerated path to the stage in a startup’s life-cycle where the most value is created. It prioritizes speed over efficiency in an environment of uncertainty, and allows a company to go from “startup” to “scaleup” at a furious pace that captures the market. Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building
Massively Valuable Companies by Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh

I love the title of this book because it captures the fury of what it’s like to embark on launching a new venture. You see, there’s no classroom quite like the school of startup. From fancy pitch decks, mind boggling essays, and countless hours of business model canvassing, to an endless array of networking, cold calling, and investor dating, there’s just no substitute for working in and around a company on its origin story. It’s a relentless pursuit in a sea of individualism where bravery is as simple as just being real. Silicon Valley culture is pervasive and there’s an army of cheerleaders on every corner watching your every move. Whether you’re building a region or a company, there’s no shortage of inspiration and opinion.

Authenticity where art thou?

Somewhere in this ecosystem is a bullet train on the fast track to wealth creation. And many there be that hold a boarding pass. Some are taking great risk in the hopes of reward and validation. An idea is fragile. Founders are fragile. Don’t forget that these dreamers are people too. In the sea of competition and capitalization, authenticity holds its own. For example, take the folks at Initialized Capital who’ve raised a $225 million fund to help founders obsessed with solving real problems. They are in it for the right reasons. They’ve been on the founder side. And there’s no doubt that their focus on a combination of high integrity and straight talk doing is going to win. Let’s not forget about the team at Backstage set on a $36 million fund to power black women founders. Yes indeed, it’s about time!

It really is a breath of fresh air to find folks who are real and embrace the give before you get mentality. Hats off to the honey badgers and accelerators leveraging vehicles to power the overlooked.

You really can bring a seat to the table.