One of the challenges of advancing in your career is being more judicious with your time. You have more responsibility, more leverage, and more hooks pulling you in a million different directions. Your premium on time increases. Obligations outside the office further compound this premium, particularly if you have a significant other and/or young children.
So, when ambitious young bucks come knocking on your door, the unfortunate reality is that you have to start being more discerning about taking that “coffee chat to pick your brain!”
And that sucks. A paucity of time plagues every ambitious individual.
I am eternally indebted to each and every person that’s ever taken 15 minutes out of their god-given life to help shed some light on my path ahead. I am extremely cognizant of the many small ways in which mentors have helped my career. As such, I try to do the same.
But, perhaps you can see the tension.
It’s tough to take the 20th ‘So, how ‘bout them ventures?’ coffee chat from a sophomore that just watched Silicon Valley for the first time. It’s fine if the All-In pod piqued your interest in douchey VC’s– that doesn’t mean we should meet up quite yet.
If you’re just knocking on the door of startups/venture, I’ve got you covered. I’ve drafted a megadoc of resources (books, pods, blogs, etc.) for anyone trying to break into the scene. I called it Your MBA in Venture. It’s got more content than you have hours in the day, and can easily cover your first six months learning about startups. Hell, it’s probably got enough to help you ace your first interview.
Now, we’ve got you cookin’. You know what a SAFE is and you’re ready to learn more. Or maybe you’ve already got that Venture 101 knowledge out of the way– you’re part of your uni’s ventures club, you’ve worked at a student startup, or maybe you’re already in tech.
Even better. Hit me back with any of the following:
A couple startups that interest you, and why?
A couple startups you think would interest me, and why?
A couple startups I’ve written about, and why I’m wrong?
A couple startups in our portfolio, and why they make you question our judgement?
What specifically about venture/startups, and why would I be a better resource than AI?
How can my firm improve our moat? What’s our mousetrap missing?
My most (recent) misguided Tweet and why?
The coolest shit you’ve built recently.
The new, shiny sector we’re not thinking about yet.
I want to pay it forward, but I need a filter.
I don’t want to meet the casuals, the tourists. I’m looking for the weird ones.
I eat, sleep, and breathe this business.
If you do too, let’s chat.
- 🍋
