1/52: Begin: Then treat it like a project
#CapitalAtRisk
Welcome to 2024
I’m better when I think of something as a project. When I was struggling to hit publish for this newsletter last year Katie told me as much (struggling to hit publish was the “what’s keeping you up at night?” for me at the August 2023 9others dinner).
Therefore after my extended summer, a great break over the holidays and some work in between I’m taking Katie’s advice and I’m committing to a new project for the next 52 weeks…
All good projects have tasks; they have a definite start, middle and end. I like that. We think of life as open-ended but really it’s not — it’s lots of little tasks that start, carry on for a bit, then end.
Here’s my project for 2024:
Write one Substack newsletter post per week about angel investing.
In the posts I will share how I see things and why I do what I do, with a bit of how I do it, as well as what I’ve see work and not work for angel investors and the founders they back.
The newsletter will be scheduled to come out at 9:09am UK time each Sunday and from 2/52 will be for paid subscribers only.
Before that though, I realise that if you’re new to my newsletter then you might not know my story, so here it is…
A bit about me
I am an angel investor, syndicate lead, community builder and author of 'Find your 9others'. I grew up on a farm in Northumberland but always wanted to be in London. In 1999 I started working in IT and progressed well with RBS, The Bank of New York and other software firms. Then, aged 27-30, I took time out to study Computer Science at Durham University, and a few years later discovered Venture Capital at Imperial College Business School as part of my MBA.
In 2010 I started working in venture. A year later I co-founded 9others.
What started as a simple meal for myself and 'nine others' has grown a lot. To date 9others has hosted over 5,000 people at over 500 intimate meals in 47 cities around the world. But that's not all it's done.
By starting and maintaining lasting and trusted relationships with founders long before any investment conversations take place I have developed the unique intuition necessary to evaluate them.
And so, through 9others I have been consistently observing the quiddity — the very essence — of founders month after month, year after year for well over a decade.
That’s a lot of learning.
What am I seeking?
I am seeking founders with extreme ambition. That’s the hard bit; evaluating which founders are worth investing in. My experience with 9others has allowed me to identify what I call, ‘Star Founders’.
Star Founders are those people with the highest levels of grit and self-awareness necessary to build world-leading companies.
I believe the greatest investment returns come from backing these Star Founders so I spend a long time getting to know people.
As for the company, to pass muster they must answer the following positively:
Does the company have (or have the potential to have) a high relative share of a high growth market?
Could the company exit for 100-1,000 times the presented valuation?
Will the company have longevity? Could it have ‘last mover’ advantage and be around in 100 years?
Is there superior technology, network effects, economies of scale and a strong brand?
Does the company have a positive impact on the world?
Why?
I've seen success happen. There are a small number of people I've met through 9others who started with nothing and are now billionaires. And there are a few more I know who have the grit, self-awareness and ambition needed to become billionaires in the future.
Q&A
You’ll learn more about my investing process and principles in the coming year through this newsletter. However, if you’re a paid subscriber and you’d like to ask a specific question then please email me on matthew@stafford.vc or you can connect on LinkedIn, here, or send a DM on Twitter, here.
In other news
💰There is still SEIS investment available in EVware. I’ve known Chris for 10+ years and the automotive work he did at Conjure, where he was CTO, couldn’t be more relevant to the new and (small but) growing market EVware is in. I invested last year and the round is still (just about) open if you’re keen and quick.
🎧 I was on Aarish Shah’s podcast, Nothing Ventured — listen to the Primer here and the main episode here.
🎧 I was also on Bogumil Baranowski’s podcast, Talking Billions — listen here.
⛷️ I will be at my friend Guy Spier’s conference, VALUEx, in Klosters later this month. I realise I might stick out like a sore thumb in amongst a bunch of value investors but that’s the point. See you there if you’re there.
Important: None of these posts are investment advice. If you are thinking about investing you should seek the advice of a suitably qualified independent advisor.
#CapitalAtRisk