Hey friends,
We’re back and I’m attempting to write this on a Saturday afternoon for the first time. Normally this newsletter is written mere minutes before it gets sent out Sunday morning. Let’s switch it up, shall we?
For the newcomers (Hey 👋 ) this is my weekly newsletter where I share interesting things I’ve read, gems I’ve discovered on the internet, and the projects I’m working on. If you aren’t subscribed already, you can do so below 👇
Here we go!
Surprises from 140+ Angel Investments
The volume of angel investments Lenny has done is 🤯
It’s fair to he’s learned a thing or two from the process and one of the critical aspects is getting access to great deals.
There were four ways he mentioned:
1. Useful knowledge: Become very smart about something founders will need help with, e.g. hiring, fundraising, growth strategy, product, marketing, scaling internationally, etc.
2. Audience: Build an audience that founders can someday rely on to amplify the startup’s story (e.g. @packyM, @HarryStebbings, @eriktorenberg, @SahilBloom).
3. Signal: Build status as an investor such that your being on the cap table becomes a strong signal (e.g. @eladgil, @cyantist, @naval).
4. Reputation: Build an amazing reputation with founders, such that they tell all of their founder friends about you.
With Vitalize Angels, our 300+ member angel investing community open to anyone, we largely get access to deals because of our reputation and bringing a diverse investor group to the cap table.
If you’re going to invest in startups, you have to find something that makes you stand out in the eyes of founders.
The Westbrook Media Flywheel
Finding gems like the Tweets below from months ago gives me such deep, unfettered, satisfaction. So much of the media we consume is from the last 24 hours. Finding wisdom from months, years, and decades ago is an art unto itself.
The tweets, from Dan’s article, talk about Westbrook Media’s flywheel:
Seeing this reminds me of the value of two things:
Creating assets
Building distribution
Your assets make you money. Your distribution makes sure those assets get in front of more people.
When you have a great combination of both, it’s a game-changer. Just look at Issa Rae’s empire for a reminder.
Long-Term Career Capital
I’ve been thinking about what’s helped me most in my career up until this point and, as I’ve been developing my course on building relationships through podcasting, the answer became clear - building long-term career capital. Here’s how:
The piece that’s helped me the most? Creating the serendipity engine.
Quick Updates
I was recently interviewed on the Running in Public podcast and I’m still on track for running 1,000 miles in 2022
We got almost 5,000 views of our first newsletter at Vitalize which blows my mind. The 2nd edition went live on Friday. If you’re interested in startups, take a look.
We wrapped up week 2 of the Maven Course Accelerator, learning about how to structure a course and create engaging lessons
That’s it, friends! Onward and upward 🚀
Justin