1. Our team and network
For most of the past few years, I have been choosing ventures together with my dear colleague Benoît Leroux. I consider this essential. Benoît and I belong to different circles, have different careers, and simply see the world differently. Having that diversity is essential to analyzing and synthesizing the information we receive. Part of the magic is the arguments we have about the startups we choose. Greylock, the venture capital firm famous for backing companies like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Airbnb, also talks about this. It feels good when Benoit and I wholeheartedly agree, but I think we’re more likely to make good decisions when we disagree.
Although we make the final decisions, Benoît and I have never been alone in this endeavor. Partnering with Verve Ventures, a leading pan-European venture capital firm, Innosuisse, the Swiss innovation agency, and VentureLab, which provides training and support to startups, gives us a variety of perspectives. In addition to these Swiss institutions, we also have our personal contacts. I don’t know anything about DNA digital data storage, but he knows three people in Silicon Valley who do. I admit that I don’t understand Bitcoin and blockchain, but thankfully Benoit and several of his IMD colleagues are experts.
If I see someone listed as an advisor for a startup, I’ll email them to get their opinion on the company and founder. If you know a competitor in your field, call them to ask them what they think of your potential rival. If I don’t feel a company is ready to enter the market, I call potential customers to see at what stage they would take the product seriously. By connecting the dots from the network and triangulating the various inputs, you can paint a pretty good picture of ventures and teams.
