Mike Maples Jr. is a respected early stage venture capitalist and angel investor who maintains a unique approach to investing. He frequently supports and grows startups that are overlooked or considered unpopular by many.
As a co-founder of a venture firm, his successful investments include well-regarded companies such as Twitter, Twitch, Lyft, Bazaarvoice, etc. Maples has co-authored a book with Peter Zibelman called “Pattern Breakers,” which reflects his unique investment philosophy.
Maples originated the term “Thunder Lizard,” a metaphor for companies that disrupt typical capitalist norms, and his goal is to identify these “Thunder Lizards” in their early stages.
Maples acknowledges how difficult it can be to find those potential “Thunder Lizards” in a crowded market.
Mike Maples Jr.: The often-overlooked roots of startup development
Still, his experience and keen business acumen help him distinguish potential winners from the rest. He uses a variety of factors, including growth potential and market position, to evaluate potential “Thunder Lizards.”
Maples argues that the rush to invest can overshadow the potential of startup opportunities. In his view, the most successful startups are disruptive: They eschew conventional strategies and bring about impactful, groundbreaking change in their field.
He further stated that startups that challenge conventional wisdom and adopt novel strategies can bring a new pace to the industry. According to Maples, a startup’s potential success depends more on its innovative spirit than on funding.
While Maples acknowledges that he missed out on opportunities like Airbnb, he attributes his investing success to luck, intuition, timing, and external factors like technological advances.
