Concept: Taking notes is not about capturing what was said. It is not about capturing "insights". It is all about capturing what creates alpha. On Talk and Panel Selection Make sure that more than half of your time is spent talking with people (d'oh!). Choose 80% of talks in areas that should be front and … Continue reading Mastering Conference Note-Taking for Investment Insights and Alpha
I just recently heard the interview with Meghan Reynolds, Partner and Head of Capital Formation & Talent at Altimeter Capital. Meghan acknowledges that venture capital is hard, driven by outliers, and rarely do we have a home run, but often many failures (large and small). She has a pretty simple and brilliant framework for communicating … Continue reading Communication, Easy as PIE: Problem, Impact, Exposure
[This is one of the first 'Tactical Notes' - short-format observations that I jotted down some time ago, where I feel that this snippet is enough and no long format essay is necessary] Capital formation strategy is a product of LP-GP fit. The best LP-GP relationships are not built on performance narratives but on shared … Continue reading Tactical Notes: Fit First, Fund Second
"Hey, real quick: what's a good way to think about value chains in Defense in Europe?" Oh boy. Defense is not an industry or a sector. And it depends to whom your talking: Various detailed segmentations are often used by defense ministries, procurement agencies (e.g., OCCAR, NSPA), and trade associations like ASD Europe. But here … Continue reading European Defense Manufacturing Value Chain: Detailed Segmentation
“Client-Deserving” capital formation ≠ Fundraising. Fundraising is a sales motion. Capital formation is a design motion. In a world flooded with noise and "access," the only durable strategy is one that earns the right to partner. The best LPs don’t respond to persuasion—they respond to alignment, clarity, and operational readiness. We don’t "close" LPs. We … Continue reading Capital Formation is Not Fundraising
LPs learn more from your process than your pitch deck. Are you organized? Responsive? Insightful? Do you deliver clarity under pressure or confusion under polish? Your materials, cadence, and language are not "just" collateral—they are proof of partnership potential and your team's trajectory. "We do not have access to our inner works and feelings, so … Continue reading How You Do Anything is How You Do IR
We often use the term "Defense Industry" in conversations. I've done so, too, when talking about primes and their defense products — where armed forces are their only customers. And I think I am doing a disservice to my LPs. As an investor, it's a bit more tricky: What about militarization of civil infrastructure? Or … Continue reading Defense is Not a Sector or an Industry
Enterprise CTOs or CIOs often ask me about how IT will change in the future, about the "Disruption of Technology in 3-5 years". Most CTOs and CIOs realize that that is primarily a strategic question rather than a question about a certain vendor or technology. I usually explore the specific challenges together with the executive … Continue reading The Future of IT: The Next Five Years.
Most DevOps centric startups are focusing on the Dev, not the Ops. Many tools and startups start in Test & Dev (versus "production" or "in-revenue" applications). But really hard problems in DevOps are often connected to in-revenue, critical applications. These applications have real-time and high-availability requirements and "exactly-once" execution of commands. I have the privilege … Continue reading Developer-centric Startups for Critical Applications
Talk about burying the lead: "The competitive strength of Tesla is not going to be the car; it's going to be the factory," Musk said. https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/02/tesla-loses-another-675-million-in-q4-its-biggest-quarterly-loss-yet/ Car manufacturers have known that for years (though some seemed to have forgotten about it) If you ever toured the factory floor of BMW in Munich, you know how … Continue reading Production, not Product, as Competitive Strength
