Startup Newsletter

Something all founders have in common

→ Freedom to
→ Freedom from

At some point

Every founder made the leap of faith

To pursue their version of the American Dream

Something that requires much courage

→ we're told
→ 70% of the global workforce
→ want to become entrepreneurs
→ to leave the 9-5

But ...

I treat every startup as a turnaround

→ it's how 90% of our ventures succeed 📈

→ it's how we go from flawed

→ to viable

→ everyone knows the rules 🚀

When you treat everything as flawed
The flaws get exposed
You pivot early — becoming viable
BEFORE you go-to-market

→ but if you don't believe your...

Giving-up isn't a pivot

→ It's quitting
→ It always follows
→ Failing to raise capital
→ Or failing to land customers

But there's a big difference

Between quitting

And starting over

I start over all the time

When one of my ideas doesn't work

→ I take courage
→ Go back to square one
→ Work through ...

Founders - Great brands

→ will attract and repel

Magnets always 𝗱𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵.

Every startup founder must 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱

And the brand must 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

And 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲

→ For instance

→ Though I'm not the only one on our team

→ I have become the brand at CanaGlobal

→ And our brand h...

We only trust & invest in founders with a slight limp

→ The ones who are battle-tested
→ And have the scars to prove it
→ When they got knocked down
→ They got back up

Why do we love them

First they tell great stories

These are the ones you invite over for steaks

To smoke cigars and share a bourbo...

I love founders who bet on themselves

→ Henry 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗱 $25𝗞 on his CC in 2007

→ ZoomInfo wasn't always the $8B giant it is today

→ At 23, he was his first investor

→ He invested $25k on his credit card

→ He invested in himself and his startup DiscoverOrg (Now ZoomInfo)

𝗛𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱

It took ...

Faith Driven VC have their own investment criteria

→ And 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 DEI or ESG

→ Instead 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗠𝗘𝗜 + (𝗦𝗜)

→ What's MEI

→ Merit, Excellence and Intelligence

→ What's SI

→ 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

I'm fascinated by AI, but I love SI more, because it's the wisdom from God

It's called discernment

Tr...

Founders - $hit happens 💩

→ Use the $hit to bounce back

Startup life is hard, no matter the stage

The deal you thought was going to happen, didn't

Many times you'll get to the end of your runway

→ Feels like MASSIVE failure

→ The $hit has hit the fan

→ Startup life becomes a complete $hit sho...

How a founder goes about raising venture capital

→ Will tell you everything

→ You want to know

→ About how they will 𝘁𝗿𝘆 to land new customers

If a founder wants to get funded, they'll have to nail these four elements

→ The pitch deck

→ The actual pitch‚ can they tell a compelling story

→ The...

I love it when founders ask for help

→ It's the path that leads to the 1%

→ Because only 1% of startups reach $10M in annual revs

→ And only 7% make it past $1M in annual revs

→ What do the 1% have in common

→ They understand the rules

→ That their startup is likely flawed

→ And they're on a ...

Founders - I'm now backed by the smartest and richest one in the world.

It's a partnership. We co-create. Come join us.

→ Who?
→ God!

I know that might sound crazy, but you're already here, read a few more lines.

→ I grew up a believer
→ I thought it was more probable that God existed
→ I didn't bu...