Nick Davidov's Advice on Startups

• “Itch to do it” — motivation & must do it like a gambler
• Founder-market fit Do you have deep understanding of problem and is it personal to you?
• “Making money is a horrible motivation for me and all the people I know” What kind of people do you respect
• We find companies that grow 10x in markets that grow 10x
• “Will this founder be able to hire the best?” — key question
• Is this founder able to sell to the best customers? — undestanding; least important Q
• Talking to founders helps, but nobody knows.
• If enterprise sales, then the best customers are important
• Will they be able to raise the biggest amount of money in their sector? Important for capital-intensive company
• People who know people who can write 1b checks usually worked at financial institutions
  • If only the last question is missing but the company is exceptional, not good, why not
• Techcrunch/producthunt companies induce FOMOs
• Network & paying forward
• Nick was 16 when he went to university in Russia
• Always ask questions & learn “how often do you change cobblestones in the Red Square”
• What do you want to do — what do you enjoy doing?
  • 2.5% chance of 3rd company being a unicorn. $100m=15%
• Angels may not need to be sold on the problem that you are solving
  • “If the product is exceptional, it will sell itself and will not need a financial agent. For a mediocre company, the financial agent will not be able to help and could do wrong.
• Lifestyle business vs high-growth startup