5 Ways to Be a Contender (Not a Pretender)

At some point you have to stop dancing around the ring and show what you got.

Whether you’re a founder or an investor, anyone can spot hubris from a mile away. It drips from tweets, screams from blogs. Curiously, it’s amplified by subtle humble disclaimers. Within the first five minutes of meeting someone, you just know the sizzle from the meat.

Listen, I get that everyone has to sell their brand, but humble brag is different from constant PR. At some point you have to stop dancing around the ring and show what you got.

Here’s some thoughts on how to punch and win:

1. Stop talking about your incredible resume: The past is over and only the future is ahead. Tell me instead what you want to build and why. Tell me about the passion behind it, and show me why it’s more than the money.
2. How do you fit within your massive industry?: Yes Mr./Mrs. VC, I know there have been some big returns in software recently, but what are you investing in that is new and different? Dear Founder, we all know the Internet of Things (for example) will be a massive industry in the years to come — what are you doing that is hard and unique in the space? There is so much time wasted around selling the backdrop.
3. Drafting off others’ doesn’t put you in the lead: Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech comes to mind. There are 1) those who love to opine on the actions of others and tell you who they know and then there are 2) those that get into the arena and get dirty. Dropping names to sound important is a negative signal — spend more time doing and less time living your life through others.
4. Put your head down and build: A founder we recently invested with hates fundraising with a passion. He sees it as keeping him away from his intense focus of building the business and talking to customers. He hates the drama attached to how some attend to this part of startups. He believes he is here to build a world-changing company and those not part of the equation are just in his way. Hard to argue with him.
5. Show me your numbers: As a vc, at the end of the day we are measured on our cash-on-cash IRR to our limited partners. Plain and simple. Founders are measured on the appropriate KPIs for your business at every stage of your company, and ultimately revenue growth and profitability. Numbers say it all, so put all the relevant data on a dashboard and constantly remind everyone of these numbers. Save the prose and gather the data.

The best founders and investors have no time for sexy — they get out of their corner and start fighting. What drives them is building product, hiring teams, and having fun.

In the end, your business will speak volumes over your press clippings and tweets. Be a contender, not a pretender.