I have news to share!
As of today, I’m leaving FF to start a new adventure. I joined FF many years ago and when I did, I was excited about working with friends. During that time I had the privilege of working with some of the smartest and most talented people in the world, both on the investor side and the Entrepeneur side. I never went to an actual college or University, but today I graduate from Founders Fund University.
The thing I love about FF is they take risks that nobody else will take and they constantly run experiments to see what works and what doesn’t work. Taking me on was an experiment. I’m notoriously early stage. I’m also fiercely independent. Over the years the team worked with me every step of the way to make things work for me. This included working around my unique family life, my unique way of investing, giving me space that I really needed when I had a stroke, welcoming me back with warm arms when I recovered. They did everything to try to make me happy. Everything.
However, I have to face who I am. I’m an angel investor. I’m dyed in the wool early stage. I’m addicted to the hunt and to the passion that comes with the optimism of what is possible and I’m not cut out for later stage investing. I tried. I really tried. I gave it everything I had. FF was always supportive, however they are also stage agnostic and generalists and hoped I would be able to do all stages and I can not. I just can’t.
We like to think we can do anything, but at some point you have to face reality when you can’t do something and when you can’t do something, you should realize what you are really good at. So, today I’m going back to that. I’ll save why I’m not good at later stage for another day, because I think it is great to share and learn more from. The companies I backed are amazing, so it isn’t about companies I picked, it’s more about my personal internal struggle that has nothing to do with them.
However it has a twist. I’m joining more friends and we have an innovative way of doing things. One that is extremely operator and angel aligned. I get to do the things I love and exactly how I want to do them and what’s even more cool? I still get to help Founders Fund. Our best companies will be introduced to them.
Our group is called Long Journey Ventures and we will explain what we are up to soon!
I love Founders Fund so much. Thank you for taking a chance on me, especially Brian Singerman. Thank you for believing I could be the best venture capitalist. Thank you for giving me every resource imaginable. Thank you to all of my partners there and the operational staff. I love you all, but know I’m only a text message away and you know where I live ;-)
Thank you to all of the founders I worked with there. I’m still here for you, and not gone. I’m also keeping my board seats for AI Foundation and Cargo. Both companies are amazing and I can’t wait to see where we go. Both have amazing announcements coming in the next six months. I believe in them today more than I did when I invested and I’m not about to step away and they can keep me as long as I’m helpful.
