Good financings happening. Passing on some. Good news, but not crazy. Don't spike the ball prematurely. Don't let others feed your mania.

Portfolio Update:

Good news.   Three pre-emptive financings, all at well reasoned and fair terms.  The days of 2021 are gone.  That is a GOOD thing.   Temporary blips and crazy increases in valuation are not good for your company, although they may feel that way when they are happening.  Valuation in the private world is a vanity metric.  

I am glad companies are getting the money they need to grow, often pre-emptively, in a reasonable way. Its better for the long term.

As for me, I did a few follow ons to bridge rounds in the past month.  I also refused a few.  I have a few companies that are on their 5th SAFE and while I respect their tenacity, my original investment thesis is long gone.

Entrepreneur Corner:  Handling momentum. Don't spike the ball before the end zone. Don't get too excited. Control your enthusiasm. And absolutely don't let others feed into madness.

Most entrepreneurs dream of catching lightning in a bottle and 18 months later having a unicorn with 1000 employees. And they think that is success. It can happen. Most likely you will need to grow your business brick by brick and over an extended period of time with many ups and downs.

Having been their many times, its hard not to get excited when you are hiring, getting lots of positive feedback and people are bidding up your value or wanting to invest. But more often than not, things are not as good as they seem. How do you control your excitment and not go off the rails with distraction?

A few thoughts:

1) Take a hiring pause even if you don't need to. Your team will try to convince you that they are overworked and you need to spend to fill gaps. Just reject that notion and if you feel like there is a new face every week, take a month off. I promise nothing will happen and it will give you time to reflect and see more trends (some of which may turn negative).

2) Focus on some problems/issues. You don't need to be a cheerleader everyday. This is super important. I assure you no matter how good things are going you have problems. Focusing on and derisking those things will lead to a better outcome. Its counter intuitive because you are supposed to be an optimist.

3) Set the bar high for pats on the back (yourself and your team) What causes you to celebrate? A product release? nope. I need to see traction, real value and use. Hiring? nope. Its easy to spend money, a monkey could do it. I need to see value and ROI from the people we get. First 3 customers? Nope. That was easy. Come pop the champagne when you have 100.

4) Study some failures, talk to those who have been there. I can tell you that those who have failed or not achieved all they wanted at some point in the journey thought they would rule the world. Things can change quickly for reasons in and out of your control. Just sober yourself once in a while by learning from others experience.

5) Finally, don't let others feed you mania. I once had an investor who was so obsessed with valuation they would ask me constantly to tell their LP base and others what we "would be worth" someday. They were just unwilling to hear that anything could go wrong or that we should raise more money or plan ahead or even slow down. If you are sober it doesn't mean those around you won't be greedy or lose their minds. You need to keep yours for your company to prevail in the long term.

Growth and value in your company is what you are seeking. But those that build large and enduring companies run a marathon. You have to be tough and resilient when things are tough. Even more importantly you have to be calm and not over stimulated when things seem to be good. Things are never as good or bad as they seem. Teaching yourself that and having discipline will go a long way.

Parents Corner:  Activities that build patience and concentration- puzzles for example?

In a day and age of technology, as parents, we value play time and outdoor time.  But if I can implore one thing its to insist the kids do some activities that involve patience and concentration.   I lost my patience with jigsaw puzzles when I was maybe 11 years old.  I didn't want to sit there and stare at them and figure it all out.   It took too long and hurt my eyes.  

But my 13 year old is actually very much into puzzles.  To the point where he purchased a special board to do puzzles.   I have to say when I watch him do it I wonder how anyone can have that much patience.   I asked him once and he said "its fun".    Here is the point, it isn't innately fun but after doing it for a while and getting a sense of accomplishment from it, it becomes fun.   

Puzzles aren't the only opportunity on this front.  There are certain board games, like chess and many other activities that reward patience and discipline.  Make that a habit with the kids and it will pay off in the long term.