Noah Knauf, Bond
Growth stage flywheel
Last week, we had a chance to have dinner with Noah Knauf, founder of Bond and renowned growth investor in Silicon Valley. Noah believes that even though we had a “hot” market where everything was getting funded - most of the verticals (AI, Web3, supply chain, etc.) will prove viability in the long run.
Several takeaways that we learned from Noah below:
A rising tide lifts all boats. Go to an industry that is growing as more opportunities will go there;
Put your head down on the job, build your luck, but keep your eyes open to the next move;
There is no need to over-calculate and over-optimize every step of the way;
Do good work, and opportunities will continue to come your way;
Be conscious of the social externalities of what you are working on - e.g., social media companies;
An emphasis too narrowly focused on products and algorithms (but not as much on people) can have negative consequences;
Take every meeting - would’ve said no to 50-70% of the deals they’ve done in advance if they didn’t take the meeting;
Play the long game - you have a 30-40 year career, so don’t focus on the short-term;
Quality of relationships is more important than quantity - and this is what Noah suggest from MBAs, instead of trying to become friend with everyone - better to focus on several people you “click.” Otherwise, you’ll waste a lot of time and won’t use most of these “weak” connections during your life;
Trends to watch: Energy / Construction tech / Defense tech / Healthcare tech.
He is a strong believer in Web3 but still looking for use cases. It’ll be a matter of time before use cases manifest themselves.
Successful companies use capital allocation as growth fuel but not for survival. This is a crucial distinction.
The only way to successfully invest as an investor is to put yourself out there and see all opportunities in the industry;
Chief Editor: Jacky Lin
Contributors: Franz Mitre and Sebastian Baquerizo