How might we improve the “reviewing board decks and engaging at board meetings” aspect of portfolio monitoring? A checklist. Specifically, we can rely on the Inversion Mental Model to craft a really good checklist. It asks you to consider what could go wrong. To quote Farnam Street: "avoiding stupidity is easier than seeking brilliance." (BTW, that’s a “must read” article on the topic. James Clear’s “Inversion: The Crucial Thinking Skill Nobody Ever Taught You” is another.)

VCs: measure and monitor the right things and returns will increase. But how? This week we continue walking through our framework (and some of our tools) to derive smart, data-driven KPIs.

Measure and monitor the right things and returns will increase. But how? Here’s a look into our process and some of our tools to derive smart KPIs. (Spoiler alert: it’s analytical, not guesswork.)

A lot of VC investing is driven by cognitive bias. The bad news is that it’s a drag on return. The good news is there’s a solution. Embedding this one protocol in your portfolio monitoring framework will help the VC investor avoid the gnarliest cognitive bias traps: the Monthly Portfolio Review.

In the age of Frank, Theranos, and SFB/FTX, does VC need to use “mystery shoppers” to stave off fraud? Venture already has massive opportunity to be a smoke-in-mirrors wasteland. Is there a place for field research?

It’s a puzzle that VCs spend so much more time on sourcing new companies than managing the positions of the ones they’ve already got. But, it turns out that puzzle has a name.

It’s time for stakeholders to realize something: KPIs that matter aren’t determined by people — effective KPIs are revealed by data.

It’s been just under 2 months since YC advised its founders to hunker down in light of the recent market downturn. The underlying assets now have their marching orders on how to change. But early-stage companies aren’t the only actors in the startup ecosystem. How does the VC investor — an expert in the asset class — change?

In a perfect world: your brilliant investment thesis would be enough to fundraise successfully with reasonable effort.

In the real world: it’s not.