Thanks Chris! Appreciate you and your observation. My thoughts were, “Woman touts accomplishments. Gets called a narcissist. News at 11!”

Replying to @ch402 @luminartech @loom @zoink @VitalikButerin @riteshagar @getfossa @LauraDeming


@M_once_f @luminartech @loom @zoink @VitalikButerin @riteshagar @getfossa @LauraDeming Lol. Read my OP. I say in the first line that investing is in part luck. Also read the article. Or don’t. You do you.


Lol this pandemic has made me less ok with bullshit and more ok with speaking up. It’s only the beginnning. 🔥🧚♀


Being reasonable is SO last year.


loving on suburbs

FILL IN THE BLANK:

After Covid, most people believed it would just “go back to normal.”

But  ______________ was a PERMANENT shift and this is our new reality.

Matt Mazzeo

Investor & builder. Husband & father. Early believer @cognition @supabase @replit @joinhandshake @tryaugie. Past: Coatue, Lowercase, CAA.


@cameo @jeremybornstein +1 she’s right.


loving on suburbs


I’d have to think about it more but @karensalay said something I really liked that luck = persistence + opportunity.

Replying to @daniellenewnham @luminartech @loom @zoink @VitalikButerin @riteshagar @getfossa @LauraDeming


@backgammonbuddy .@alisontarwater


We are lucky that we came across Nect Gen in both of our first years!

Replying to @DylGambardella @JustinLafazan @William_Blake


Lol love how you put things I did without mentioning the public charter school I built that serves 400 students from scratch.


@laphroaiganddew @VCBrags


@omosanzalette I wanted AIR (artist in residence) programs to start in addition to EIT programs for just this reason.


@omosanzalette EIT = EIR. Adhd typo :p


@omosanzalette Not diagnosed but plenty of reason to believe I do.


@omosanzalette I might own....a few 🤣


@omosanzalette Can build charter school, can’t find keys.  Lol maybe I do have it.


@omosanzalette I don’t like putting people in diagnostic boxes but I’d guess a high percentage.


@omosanzalette Put the period after “jail.”


PG’s version of “this too shall pass.”

Paul Graham

                    @paulg

                  8 May 2020

                When you're in the middle of a crisis, you tend to overestimate how permanent its effects will be.


Good idea!

Feeling like Rapunzel these days with my hair.   Thinking of growing it for "Locks of Love".

Karen Salay

Lawyer-in-Training • Story trumps Truth Educator •  PMP Certified • AI Evangelist • Female Entrepreneur • Blockchain Expert • Sea Turtle Lover • Traveler


@backgammonbuddy @alisontarwater Lol thanks! My housemate taught me to play last month and now we have a standing backgammon meeting every Thursday :)


@omosanzalette The sad part is that too many children are put on meds and too many children of color are labeled with something like ODD instead of a label that would get them services and support.


@prezmax @backgammonbuddy @alisontarwater Yay!!!


@fruityth1ng @luminartech @loom @zoink @VitalikButerin @riteshagar @getfossa @LauraDeming I don’t know who you’re calling rich. But yes incentives matter. Twitter has been great for venting.


.@William_Blake is using “fetch” now...16 years too late.

Michael P Gibson

                    @William_Blake

                  8 May 2020

                Watched Mean Girls for the first time last night.


Lol I’m not allowed to say, but what do you think?

Michael P Gibson

                    @William_Blake

                  8 May 2020

                Replying to @jeremyrwelch
                Which fund is most like the Plastics?


@AddictLeenore @DelJohnsonVC @VCBrags I’d call it more unhinged.


@AddictLeenore @DelJohnsonVC @VCBrags I would if my name were Karen.


No one builds anything of substance alone, what's your point?

Replying to @AddictLeenore @lum_fish @VCBrags


@AddictLeenore @lum_fish @VCBrags Lol me and one other person did and then we built a team and then we served hundreds of children. Not ashamed lol!


@backgammonbuddy @prezmax @alisontarwater Old-school! I’m about 4 games in :)


Loving this initiative!

1kproject@1kprojectorg
                  12 May 2020

                Help a single mother's family through 1kproject.org

1. A sponsor already started the funding

2. To join, text the amount you want to donate ($100 min) to 815-552-8075

3. We’ll text you back a GoFundMe page link where you can learn more and donate.

@1kprojectorg


Worst answer ever to, “Why does your founding CTO only own 10% of the company?” “They didn’t want more.” This is either low conviction (aka short term commitment) or really bad leadership on the other cofounders’ part. Incentives matter.


@Quan Yes!


Yeah they started the company at the same time but say he’s not a cofounder. Huge red flags.


^you the best!


@Quan 🤣


@saarw @cullend They are bootstrapping right now but just started this year. Raising their first money now.


@Quan Srsly


@Quan The best!


The CTO is a previous founder of another company. So they know this isn’t standard!


"I know it's a stretch, but I don't think I could have been able to do this without what the 1517 grant did for me...it made me believe in myself when my parents were (and still are) so resistant to my dreams." - From a grantee today who we funded 5 years ago. All the feels!


@Mastratton @RebeccaSadwick @TerezaN What’s wrong with people taking offense?


Admire the grit! What a path!

Cher Scarlett 🌌@cherthedev
                  14 May 2020

                Started coding @ 14
High school drop out @ 18
Started stripping @ 18
Non-consensual porn @ 19
Suicide attempt @ 19
College drop out @ 20
1st Dev job 27k @ 21
Dev at USA Today 67k @ 26
SWE at Blizzard 90k @ 29
Lead at Sbux 125k @ 32
IC3 at Webflow 145k @ 34
IC4 at Apple 180k @ 35


@Mastratton @TerezaN @RebeccaSadwick ^ bingo!


@millerannette Yup


"Maybe this will help take the dust off your bibles."

Only during covid - got a vm from the Jehovah's Witnesses. The guy forgets to hang up so I even get to hear them debrief the call. What an amazing covid time capsule piece. tinyurl.com/y8h7x7k5


@AdamisGolden Context is that this isn’t an employee but founding CTO.


@JCT_212 @AdamisGolden Yeah I don’t think salary is part of this particular deal.


@jamiecayley @AcademicChatter Hat?!


My mom’s name is Karen.

Alexis Ohanian 🗽

                    @alexisohanian

                  18 May 2020

                Seriously though what is someone named Karen supposed to do now? Change her name? How does one go through life as a Karen in 2020 and beyond?


@mowheeler Never! She’s so NOT a Karen!


@Quan No, I call her mom.


I’m unclear. She cries easily so I don’t even want to bring it up!


@roybahat Lol does making my bed, feeding my cats, and making tea count?


Doing it right!

alexander

                    @alexleesf

                  18 May 2020

                Today marks 100 days of sobriety. It’s the longest I’ve gone without drinking in a decade and I’ve never felt better, both physically and mentally.


Meta

QC

                    @QiaochuYuan

                  19 May 2020

                might need to make a kanban board in roam and stare at it for awhile to work through my feelings about to-do lists


@roybahat Sold!


@Erikals7 @MyDailyPosts @KnowMoneySteve @OneBandwagonFan @dunkhippo33 @sether Agreed. This is also why no one of us on the team has signing authority to make an investment. We MUST have conviction that we are making a good decision (and we always go through our diligence checklist).


@ericbahn Your son is clearly less drunk on oxytocin than you are.


I would kill to watch a high up person in tech get retweeted smack down from their mom.


I’d be there for that!


So sorry Rose, that's terrible. Though you haven't asked for any advise here, you might lookup TRE (trauma release exercises) shaking on youtube as a way to help process the event out of your body.


Same


Perfectly said!

Adam Perschke

                    @AdamPerschke

                  22 May 2020

                Knowledge is the compound interest of curiosity.


Go great children!

Vinay Hiremath

                    @vhmth

                  23 May 2020

                Yesterday I wired 99.7% of my money to my parents so they can retire early. They dedicated their lives to ensure my sister and I had a much better upbringing than themselves. I don't fucking care what people say.

🇺🇸
Go America.
Go capitalism.
Go free markets.
Go hard work.
🇺🇸


<3 I hope to meet your parents some time!


Blast from the past! Especially love the updated commentary. I also cringe at some of the questions we asked. I think we dropped them after 2011.

Dylan Field

                    @zoink

                  26 May 2020

                For the first time, I'm sharing the @thielfellowship application from December, 2011 which eventually led to @figmadesign.

My hope is that this inspires others to pursue entrepreneurial paths, even if they don't have the "perfect idea" just yet!

linkedin.com/pulse/figmas-st…


@kunksed Would have started 1517 years earlier!


1/7 It starts early. Just mentored a high school team on their competition pitch. When I asked the young woman for her thoughts she froze and tried to pass the question to her cofounder. He didn’t jump in to take over for her. But she insisted on passing the baton back to him.


2/7. “Oh hell no!” I thought.

I stopped her dead in her tracks.

“You’ve got this. Pause. Tell me what you think.”

“This is hard!” She squeaked. And rolled her head across her shoulders.


3/7. “That’s ok that this is hard. You can still do this and have it be hard at the same time.”

And she gave a great answer with lots of hesitation in her voice.


4/7 “Tell me about something you love.”

She tells me about her dogs and doesn’t miss a beat. She speaks clearly without wavering.


5/7 “You need to talk about your project like you do about your dogs. No one in the competition knows more about the work you’ve done than you. No one. This is your project like those are your dogs.”

She nods her head.


6/7 I focused on her male cofounder. “Practice passing the baton to each other when you’re speaking so it feels natural and you both get equal time. There is nothing that I like less than one cofounder upfront with backup singers. You’re both leads.”

He nods and agrees.


7/7 It’s really important to be able to sit with young women in this discomfort and show them that they can build resilience. And equally important to show young men how they can bring everyone upfront to the spotlight. This is a dynamic, let’s not let either side off the hook.


I hope they can hear you all the way in the back of the stadium now!


@fpontaza @William_Blake Lol canceled the damn launch! Good thing I’m not out there today!


Yeah! It starts with calling it out and not allowing it to continue to happen. Thanks for stepping up!


Thanks for noticing Chris! Thought that might be why you liked it :). And yeah it was very deliberate not to invalidate her experience and let her know that something else was possible at the same time.


I haven’t for years!


I’m so sorry you have to bulldoze your garage. That truly sucks. I’ll bring the gasoline over later.


@haidaa @ericbahn ^ real footage of me vs spiders.


@karensalay Lol or just cheap :)


Trying! Need reinforcements. Need army to do more of this :)


@zslayback That is great!!


How did you become Catholic today in particular? How does that work?


@founderannie @karensalay ^ same!


@nanogenomic @pre_market_ @zebulgar Lol oh I am so here for that!


@mkosma Feeling it! 💗💗💗


Love this team! Great work making us all better at what we do.

Loom

                    @loom

                  28 May 2020

                “Loom and video messaging specifically is like a superpower for employees.”

We are thrilled to be featured in @Forbes today. Check out the piece here: forbes.com/sites/alexandrawi…


Hope you and @adamjensenty connect!!! He’s great!!


Learned something about Zoom today. When the screen seems crappy and pixelated, clean your camera😆


@masaakifuruki @davidorban Talent can come at any age! We don’t have a specific age group we work with. It’s all about narrative for us, if someone has stepped off the degree train we are here to help.


It’s a blessing to work with great people 💗

Eric Bahn 💛

                    @ericbahn

                  11 Jun 2020

                Founders often thank their VCs for investing.

But it should be the opposite: VCs should always thank founders for being given the opportunity to invest.

The only reason I can pursue my dream job is that our founders have decided to say YES to me.

I never forget that.


^samsies! 💗 my preseed family


I use MixMax for this!


Brilliant. Would add to tip the employees.


One of my art teachers taught us to draw in the correct lines before erasing the faulty one. I remember that when living life across the board.

Lyall Taylor

                    @LT3000Lyall

                  13 Jun 2020

                Garry Kasparov once said that one of biggest mistakes chess players make is trying to 'undo' a bad move, when in reality, once a bad move is played, it is already a whole new game and an entirely fresh mindset is required.

It struck me that investors make the exact same mistake


Had a heart wrenching call with one of my founders this morning. His mom told him that couldn’t wear a hoodie when he was cold.

I expected him to say he was a teen then.

He was 6.

How long does it take for this “education” for young Black men end?


Yeah agreed. Part of my own response was basically an internal “Holy shit, I had no idea.”


@jdanjohnson So sorry :(


With the world needing more care and in honor of the new Bill and Ted coming out, I’ll be signing all emails going forward with...

*Be excellent to each other*


Hit me up! danielle@1517fund.com

Replying to @araghougassian @farhaj @OneBandwagonFan @averghese @iiiitsandrea @1517fund @usefluent


There’s a lot broken out there right now. Let’s fix this!

1517 Fund

                    @1517fund

                  16 Jun 2020

                Young builders have a choice this fall:

They can go (back) to school, and risk campus shutting down again because of the pandemic.

Or they can build. We’re launching The Invisible College: $50K investments in ideas / R&D for builders to leave campus:

1517fund.com/post/invisible-…


The Ivory Tower and oppressive systems are crumbling.

Let’s roll up our sleeves and build something bettter.


We are excited to get this going!


@jajoosam Sadly yes for the check. That said, if you want other support, fill out the form and we will setup some time to chat!


@ManuYad48797925 As far as I know applications are open. Please see their site for more details.


You could be a better hybrid. Proud Xennial over here. #best


@SeyoneC Thank you!!


@ManuYad48797925 You will have to ask them this.


@mattschaar 👊🏻


@jdanjohnson YES!


@stevemfriedman Sold!


Angelo 🇵🇷

                    @ngeloxyz

                  16 Jun 2020

                bro you dont need a new email app to be productive you need typing lessons


This is an MD/PhD wanting to pitch us.

I loathe the use of “kids.” It’s belittling to young adults. If you want to use it with your nieces and nephews, fine. Don’t use it professionally and especially don’t use it if you lead or work with younger populations.


@sarah_cone So what’s the turning point? :)


@kevinfadler @1517fund Thx!!!


@sarah_cone A way.


@GwenInvestor 💗💗💗


Not on my watch. It’s like calling women “girls” to me.

Replying to @JAMAL_K_HARAMBE @aidantorrence


Fuck yeah!


@sarah_cone Better to stand out!


@WillManidis @celinehalioua @shaklakhani ^ this


@billwall10 I’ll take all the “young lady” I can get. For what it’s worth most people don’t understand why this is offensive. I’m shocked on the regular for how many leaders work with young people that call them kids. I just can’t even.


@billwall10 https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amp/entry/the-word-kids_n_7329494/


@billwall10 To me it’s like using “girls” in a professional context. Ick.


Our fund portfolio invests in over 30% underrepresented founders. Always looking to increase that number and we expect the Invisible College to support those who are seen as invisible in other systems.


@JeremiasBaur @1517fund Just a matter of bandwidth on what we can handle. If other firms want to partner with us to do this outside NA we are all ears!


@willradonc What insecurity is that?


@usgoose That's pretty cute :).


@usgoose Board meetings? TERRIBLE. I wouldn't let this fly. I mean it's true, you are a relative kid compared to them, but it's just really unprofessional and adds potential hierarchy where it isn't needed.


@volodarik If it's personalized to me yes. If spam, no.


I think I need to frame this reply. We got this together -- thanks for the support!


@usgoose It's not about being offensive though, it's about that language means something and it's really really subtle. Few "mean" to be biased, ignorant, passive, etc. Folks need to wake up to that their words and actions perpetuate a culture.


Merriam also has definitions of retarded...we don't call people that anymore either. I'll enjoy the ride -- no need to ride having other priorities.


I can die happy now.

VCs Congratulating Themselves 👏👏👏

                    @VCBrags

                  16 Jun 2020

                Replying to @DStrachman
                👍

(seriously)

                      ALT  Yup Yes GIF


@mexiwi @davidorban @1517fund @JeremiasBaur It’s not about age! It’s about if you’re a graduate. Maybe you do qualify?


Feelin’ it!


@ThePsyence ^ you’re the best!!


Same!


Should add to LinkedIn endorsements/experience :p


@ThePsyence I’m ready when you’re ready :)


Smokin minivan!


Life made!

VCs Congratulating Themselves 👏👏👏

                    @VCBrags

                  16 Jun 2020

                Replying to @1517fund

                      ALT  Respect Davis Boreanaz GIF


Consult with @William_Blake. All the names are his fault.


@javrodriguez_ Totes.


@javrodriguez_ I’m starting to think I should pin one of these. Mind blown!


Asking questions will never get you kicked out of this club :). They weren’t prestigious when they started and when we first worked with them but they became that by what they did over time. We start with scrappy and the world recognizes you later for the obvious reasons.

Replying to @jefftangx @1517fund @William_Blake


We are at 20% IRR as of our last audit which puts us in the top quartile of venture funds.

Replying to @drethelin @tylercowen @GarettJones


Also, fortune favors the bold. Reach out any time. Danielle@1517fund.com


Roger that!


@jon_stokes @jessesingal I’m insisting that we don’t infantalize young people and treat them with reverence and respect.


@ericbahn


What a difference then years makes!

2010 Thiel Fellowship Launches: “You’re going to pay kids to leave school?! Preposterous!”

2020 The Invisible College Launches: “Wow, this is awesome and innovative. Great idea! So needed!”

1517fund.com/post/invisible-…


@ericbahn I would highly encourage @ericbahn to remake this.


@Charles44115550 Working to make it absurd!


With the Thiel Fellowship we wanted to make the notion of one path for all absurd.

Hitting the mark looked like families talking about college alternatives freely. We wanted the idea to spread to the masses and be part of regular conversation

And now it is!


An LP we pitched asked us what made us different from any other fund and I told him that we are the only GPs working to make his daughter’s future better.


@Charles44115550 I worked in homeschool communities for a long time!


People feel so personally threatened when others step outside the norm. And it often comes out as shaming (hello shadow!) that person for being or doing something different. We need to learn to get inquisitive about differences rather than defensive.

Nick Arnett

                    @naarnett

                  17 Jun 2020

                I was humiliated and referred to as an idiot in public meetings not once, not twice, but 3 times when I was 18/19 and chose not to go to college and chose to pursue my own projects instead. Glad to see public opinion on alternatives to college is shifting 🙏


@sarah_cone Exactly!


How lovely! I’ve been wanting to do a reunion Zoom! Get those ten year updates. We always said it was a 2 year program with a 10 year timeline.


Ugh! I wish twitter would let people change typos!!! Being something like dyslexic (never been diagnosed) sucks. That’s TEN years. Not “then” years.


@BryceJohanneck Care to share what’s happening this week so we can properly congratulate you on taking the leap?!


@haideralmosawi I think we were on to a breaking dam. People needed language like “education bubble” to really understand and articulate what was going on. They also needed to see what alternatives looked like whether it be programs like ours, accelerators, boot camps, things like UnCollege, etc


I’ve gotten these a few times in the last year. Must be in a book titled “How to get Meetings [but maybe only on your own calendar] in 3 Easy Steps.”

Hong 關鴻@Quan
                  17 Jun 2020

                Some asshole just sent me a calendar invite as his first cold email. You really think that shit works Tom?


Alright! We will be here ready with the kudos and confetti! Carry on!


Oh yeah! The finalists alllllll the way.


@Quan 💗someone’s got my back!


@markbakerprague That it did!


You can apply to us for other things like feedback and grants but for this program it’s focused on NA.


@YashAtreya @dakmig If the founders are based in NA they are set.


Just write in to our form and we will see what the best fit is!

Replying to @SudoDaksh @dakmig @YashAtreya


Who is teaching this?!

weisser

                    @julianweisser

                  17 Jun 2020

                It would a net positive for humanity if we taught people how to deal with rejection in a healthy way.


@amelapay Sounds like if you are seeing themes that it could be a great article or potential book.


Would love to partner with other firms who can support this!


@adammunich Inspired by you and all the other people who took the leap! 💗💗💗


@snigdhar0y @ncasenmare Great idea!!!


INFJ


@fpontaza You can be part of any club I’m in!


Shhhh don’t tell! NFs are where it’s at!


Super fun chat and we got to do our first interview about our new program, Invisible College! facebook.com/nextgenhqoffici…


^ read my mind!


@nick_araph @1517fund Invisible College is for those without degrees but you can apply on our contact form for other types of support!


@kunksed @jajoosam @YuvaFund Fabulous! Shoot me an email. Danielle@1517fund.com


Loominicious!

Shahed Khan

                    @shahedkhan

                  19 Jun 2020

                This has to be the best Loom ever recorded 😂

loom.com/share/b0174ebcb8f84…


@NPDeMember Happy solstice sister! Love you!


If the person is outside the university system (no degree for a founder) our new program might be a great fit!


No but we are selecting for people who have either not gone to college or are taking the fall semester off.

Replying to @martian_navy @rishmishra @farhaj @sama


Thanks! More info here: 1517fund.com/post/invisible-…


Interested in working on something over the summer but think it's too early to apply to our Invisible College program? Remember -- we have our $1K grant program too for high schoolers, college students, and dropouts! medium.com/@jnishu1996/hardw…


This is outrageous! Shame on @mcgillu
 for increasing tuition for Zoom classes.


I was eating chicken wings the other night and thought the same thing. #whynot2020


Thanks to @mykfmn for the heads up. Let's get your cousin a grant!


Thank you 🙏! Apply to get a nudge on our contact form.

penryn

                    @0xPenryn

                  21 Jun 2020

                I can attest to just how far a $1000 grant can go, especially when building hardware! That 'little nudge' to get things going can take your idea all the way to an MVP -- you don't need a $1M+ round to prototype.

Seriously, student/dropout friends -- @1517fund is fantastic!


@Tatzelbrumm @mcgillu Srsly. Could you imagine @coursera charging this much? NEVER. It's all about handbags and designer logos with universities - clearly signal over substance.


@jdanjohnson Well said!


@s_technogeek @farhaj @sama North America based! See the post!


For #teamnap— what other things do you do to refresh in the middle of the day? I do yoga nidra sometimes which is amazing but I wondered about other resting tips that are lesser known. On that note 💤...been up since 6:30.


Interested in working on R&D work that could turn into a startup this Fall? The Invisible College offers $50K investments to get you started.  anchor.fm/subversion/episode…


@Quan Inner teenager, no. Actual teenager, yes. And they should definitely check out our grants!


@Quan Happy to chat any time!


@Jzahwuu Message me!


Yup

Arram

                    @arram

                  23 Jun 2020

                Everyone thinks the media is ok until they interact with them. They don’t give a shit about anything except driving eyeballs. The first few times reporters wrote about me were incredibly eye opening.


New SAT question:

“Would love to find something to work on together” : LPs to GPs

::

“_________” : GPs to Founders


45 min is the new hour ⏰

Alex Konrad

                    @alexrkonrad

                  25 Jun 2020

                When you agree to a chat and they send a calendar invite for 1 full hour 😱


“So my biggest takeaway was that it was anxiety itself that kept me from making hard decisions; once I could no longer make excuses for inaction, I made the decisions and things got better.” Great piece @adamjgoldstein https://www.epsilontheory.com/the-anxiety-algorithm-an-interview-with-adam-julian-goldstein/


My go to is “Add me to your updates.”


@ericbahn And by “go to” I mean, answer. I don’t actually say that without giving actual feedback.


Wearing swim shoes as just shoes


@maxholzheu @ericbahn


OMG I have a brother in swim shoes! I have 5 pairs and love them. And yeah at $10 each, sold!


Ok, so I know Twitter is all “I’ve met great people”...

but I didn’t know I’d meet my long lost brother in swim shoes!

p.s @ericbahn these go great with minivans.

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                    @DStrachman

                  25 Jun 2020

                Replying to @jamessinka @TheAnnaGat
                OMG I have a brother in swim shoes! I have 5 pairs and love them. And yeah at $10 each, sold!


I hadn’t thought about having guest pairs. That is a great idea!

Do you get stopped all the time for wearing yours outside the house?

I do and I’ve thought about carrying an extra pair just to sell to other people. Lol.


@ericbahn Lol I’m a very early adopter. I give it 4 more years before these catch on big. That said these are GREAT covid shoes because they are comfortable like a slipper but feel more like a shoe. So I feel more ready for my day and less like I rolled out of bed.


@ericbahn As the young folk say....clutch!


@ericbahn It’s a good thing we are the only two people on this thread. Lol


@ericbahn “Be like Hustle & 1517! You too can own a [used?] minivan and wear $10 swim shoes.”


@ericbahn You better believe the 1517 swim shoes are already in the bag. What our Invisible College cohort doesn’t know is that one requirement will be to do a daily tweet working in them.


I’ve got a pair with your name on them!!!


.@fpontaza has trauma from a time I wore shoes around him.


@alexiskold Hm. Most meetings I have are 30 min unless it’s a deeper dive for sure! 20 mins is for catch ups to me.


Ok I don’t get it. Explain to me like I’m 5...


This is what sanity looks like.

Shahed Khan

                    @shahedkhan

                  26 Jun 2020


Ok let me try again...explain to me like I’m 3...


My mom’s been saying that for 20 years...and it’s only viral now?


It is what it is = the new “go fuck yourself”


Apparently this is the new🖕💰. Got an invite. xn--mp8hai.fm/

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                    @DStrachman

                  26 Jun 2020

                Replying to @ngeloxyz @ndneighbor
                It is what it is = the new “go fuck yourself”


@alexiskold 😆


Never claimed to stay sane!


@BROhanShah The worst!


Home sweet home

Ryan O. Ferguson@ryanoferguson
                  27 Jun 2020

                New England: yeah, our Dunkin burned down but don’t worry, there’s another one ONE HUNDRED YARDS AWAY


Doing it right!

it is what it is@itiseyemoutheye
                  26 Jun 2020

                An app invite isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? Paying a family’s water bills with @humanutility.

And if we see your donation receipts, we’ll see what we can do about an invite detroitwaterproject.org/


So, is anyone organizing a tax protest?

Jim Bianco

                    @biancoresearch

                  23 Jun 2020

                Just call it off altogether!


In case you’ve felt productive today...

"I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.” ~ da Vinci’s last words.


...a spot to 💩 on! (Where my Triump fans at?)


@rockinbinbin ?? Say more?


Excited to be supporting this hackathon!

John Borthwick@Borthwick
                  17 Jun 2020

                Join us for the COVID-19 Global Hackathon 2.0: Social Isolation & Mental Health

Let’s #buildforCOVID19 in order to help vulnerable people & communities navigate the challenging conditions:

bit.ly/COVID-HACK


Get on it! Tomorrow is Monday!


@Prince94531 Happy Monday!


Congrats!


You know I’m not so sure about that. Narcissists have an incredibly hard time with shame even if it’s grandiose. So if he’s admitting a shortcoming I’m going to say he doesn’t fit the definition.


We gave up our office but it dawns on me that all the Sand Hill VCs have South Park commons to meet in which will now become the new “I know a spot...”


Following the stock market without other indicators seems short sighted. What about a daily and averaged indicator of job fulfillment? I’m thinking a text goes out asking for a 1 - 5 rating for how much an employee is looking forward to their day. Would love to see case studies!


@TheSmileCEO @liamihorne Any takeaways you want to share?


@TheSmileCEO @liamihorne I’m curious about correlations with the stock market too. Or that gets me really jazzed are counter intuitive findings :)


@TheSmileCEO @liamihorne Thanks for the great info!


@madbardmike Why is that?


Replying to @nickarner @BobbyThakkar @1517fund


Where is the line between being annoying and “admire the hustle”? To me, hustle is following up over time, showing progress, etc. what it’s not is pinging my colleagues when I’ve already given you a no.


@founderannie I think the question here is in the “how.” Did the other person you approached know that you had talked to their colleague? I also don’t know what being male has to do with doubting market size. (I’m resisting the urge to insert an inappropriate male size joke here).


@founderannie It goes the other way on our team ALL the time. Finding in roads is definitey good bit be smooth about it!


@founderannie Curious if your strategy worked. Did the fund go in with the support of the other partner?


Interesting distinction. I think timing matters too. Don’t get a no and follow up one day later with a colleague. The appearance of naturalness would probably go a long way here.


@stopachka Were they personalized?


@stopachka Damn! Like your style.


YES

Fernando Pontaza@fpontaza
                  4 Jul 2020

                Doc Brown was a true founder way back in 85 before VC was cool.  Playing the long term game on a deep tech project funded by friends,  family, and fools.


Or we will pay your team $50K to work on a startup. Choices choices.


Not the fellowship but created by the creators of that! 1517fund.com/post/invisible-…

Replying to @bmarchant3 @TacticalMinivan


Thank you! If you have a deck, happy to review it for you. Appreciate your support!

Replying to @TacticalMin1van @TacticalMinivan @bmarchant3


If any of you don’t have undergrad degrees you can apply! It’s about narrative not about age!


@farhaj @jasonaholloway That’s me too. This is capital F, Fucked UP!


@robfoot Different schools have different leave policies. That said our team was talking this morning about how if a school has a major deferral for the freshman class it may make their admissions process really trying the next year since they might not be able to admit as many folks.


@robfoot So no, haven’t seen this myself. I wonder if others have!


I’m not telling anyone to do anything. Offering choices enables choice. What a novel idea.


So what you’re saying is that it’s responsible for Harvard to offer the choice to pay $50K for Zoom school but it’s not responsible to have alternatives to that. Got it.


More about how to apply to Invisible College (our $50K progress) here: 1517fund.com/post/invisible-…


@davidgariepy


@MRMV84 @annexinc @rivveting ^ you could have left this with “I don’t feel like arguing back” now you outed ourself as a jerk who doesn’t even know how to throw a good sucker punch.


Nope but you can apply to the IC! 1517fund.com/post/invisible-…


Possibly running the Thiel Fellowship lol. If you were in school ten years ago we were around.


I’m glad it worked out for you.


@MRMV84 @annexinc @rivveting Your argument does seem to support that it’s ok for Harvard to continue to charge $50K for Zoom school. “Come to campus but our teachers won’t teach you.” But if you want to take a stab at your lack of support for that, by all means.


@ChukaEbi Sadly we are sticking to North America for this first program. That said we have an online community if people from all over the world. Write in to our contact form if you’re interested in that!


@ChukaEbi Thank you!!


Yeah I’ve been challenging the legitimacy of the educational experience for about 17 years with every piece of work that I’ve done. Get off my lawn!


@asmstein If the group is already a C Corp we would take a look but we predominantly work in North American markets!


@rivveting @annexinc @MRMV84 So $200K in Zoom school is worth that? Or what about a boot camp that finishes in 6 months and places you with work?


@MRMV84 @annexinc @rivveting Clarity reached. And of course I disagree. It would clearly be an unwise decision for founders were successful to wait. Would it be ridiculous for some to take the offer, sure. But that said they are unlikely to get one from us to start.


@MRMV84 @rivveting @annexinc A handbag will also buy you a brand. Doesn’t mean it’s worth it.


@MRMV84 Great insight!


Because choice in education is very very important to me. Has nothing to do with my own path but opening up options for others. Coercive systems need to go.


Many (community) colleges will allow teens to enroll!


@grantbelden @rivveting Lolz not my recommendation.


@KarlMuth Same!


And you can pay yourself with that!


We will also help you to incorporate.


@rhiankatie Don’t know the program but interview parents and other students there. If shadowing is allowed that’s always a good call. I’m not sure if AP vs college credits are weighed differently. I mean, having a 14 year old in college is already standard deviations away from the mean.


@rhiankatie Nope!


@NadimHossain On it :)


@grantbelden @rivveting Being educated shouldn’t stop after Philosophy 101. What a low bar to set.


@markjonesjr @tylercowen Defending Harvard doesn’t mean that choices aren’t good. It means that people need to decide what is best for them.


@markjonesjr @tylercowen Lol ah! It is all clear now. That aside, I’m not anti Harvard. I’m just anti that one way is the right way.


Gorgeous. Such admiration and presence for your daughter. More of this from parents and fathers please!


🙏 thank you for seeing me.


@grantbelden @rivveting The whole idea is that learning shouldn’t stop post college. If 4 years and learning under duress is the only way people will learn that’s a super terrible concept we’ve built around being an educated person.


@grantbelden @rivveting It’s not this or that. It’s build a future for yourself that works — could be school, could be a startup. Keep learning and developing. The four walls of an expensive and coercive institution are not the only places to do that.


@grantbelden @rivveting Philosophy 101 isn’t a waste of time but you have to weigh the opportunity cost, time, and debt. It may be worth it to some to have that structure. It may be worth it to others to start a book club.


@grantbelden @rivveting With the fellowship we had a super active book club and with 1517 we’ve been doing our “1517 @ Home” series where we’ve had 200+ people joining for learning about math, philosophy, chess, etc. Learning with others is great!


@Adam_Boyle_ @joshuaforman @amanovxix I’m curious what he will say since he mentioned his CS degree being helpful but it sounds like the real long game here are the country club level connections that is higher ed.


@MRMV84 @sonnytai331 @annexinc @rivveting Of course it takes longer to build a full company. But you gotta start somewhere! Defer sure. Harvard will always be there. And even if you don’t go back and do well with your startup they will come back later asking for a handout.


@ArmandDoma Lol ouch!


Absolutely. Assessment is really hard to do and employers are essentially out sourcing that.


Got a long venting message from someone frustrated about applying for things and then sadly facing massive rejection.

Brought a little listening and some kindness and got it back tenfold.

Our inherent goodness is there. Sometimes we’re just too raw to share it with others 🙏


@jack_schorsch You have excellent genes! And yes, hear you on “the way.”


@grantbelden @rivveting I’m not saying a book club once is the same. I’m saying that continuing to study post college is important. The fact that we box learning into four walls with a boatload of debt is absurd.


@grantbelden @rivveting I’d call $200K of debt duress. I’m just saying it’s about choices. For some the $200K is worth it. For others not so much. To each their own. I’m just working to make it so that paths outside the known ones are available and acceptable to society.


@jack_schorsch How’d it pan out for them? Expanding one’s environment is a game changer for sure.


@grantbelden @rivveting I think many people think they are done learning post diploma. Luckily I think fewer of them are on Twitter.


@grantbelden @rivveting I just don’t think the decision is “build saas product and be a buffoon” which seemed to be your stance at the beginning.


@jack_schorsch Exactly


@grantbelden @rivveting Yeah that take is far more pessimistic than the actual underpinnings of the program. We always said that the fellowship was a two year program with a ten year timeline. We wanted to see how starting on a different trajectory might put people on a mission driven path earlier.


Working on it!


Ping me!


@staskulesh @nosilverv No. I’d expect it to go to zero because that is the most likely outcome. VC is a power law distribution game. A couple of our teams would ideally get to be a fund returning company that outperforms and pays for all the other learning opportunities of our cohort.


@jamesoliverjr DM me!


@Agentv40597153 Thank you!


Danielles unite! 🙌


He is! We have emailed a few times about it :)


Yup, anyone without a BA or BS or enrolled in undergrad and willing to take next semester off can apply.


@DanielS71112215 Funny my colleague is there! @naarnett


@farhaj @rrhoover I wish!


@NarenDhyani @kavya_kay Learning about learning or learning about anything?


You’re tweeting this at the man who yelled at me and @zslayback for driving too crazy in an ATV. #givemethewheel


^ Lol this is actually what happened.

Replying to @zslayback @William_Blake @fpontaza


Exactly!


Gosh, and I thought YouTube was expensive.

Mateo Vega-Sanz

                    @MattVanzz

                  10 Jul 2020

                @DStrachman thought you’d get a kick out of this one😂


Friday series of how not to engage in DMs. Oy. At least there weren’t any kissy faces this time.


@ArtirKel Of course


I believe in serendipity. If someone is reaching out, maybe we do have something to work on together. Part of it is practice though. Getting to flex my no skills in places I care less about helps me to do better with it in the places I do. I also enjoy calling a spade a spade.


@RyanBethencourt Agreed!


@YBelyayeva What do you mean that we need more of them? Or more examples of how to deal with them?


It’s so true. One reason I engage so much in these conversations is because it is safe for me to do so and I think about it as a lesson in consent.


@YBelyayeva Aww thank you!


@darrenmarble DMs are open for gift cards too 🤪


@haidaa Lol all they had to do was read my pinned post!


👀 I feel so seen lol! I was always terrible at sports but maybe this is the first chance I’m good at playing ball!


Email me a blurb and your LinkedIn! Danielle@1517fund.com


Super excited to launch this — get some cash!💰💰💰

1517 Fund

                    @1517fund

                  13 Jul 2020

                Today we're happy to share FounderGrants.com, an easy way to find & share grants for your startup, so you can fund your company without giving up equity:

foundergrants.com

This early release comes pre-loaded with 80+ grants, but users can also submit their own!


Lol my first thought (without reading the post and understanding the emoji game was) “what’d I do to piss this guy off?” 🤣🤪

Replying to @DavidLopezSr @DavidGLopez_ @NextGenHQ @1517fund


Thank you for building this!!!!

Replying to @sprainhill @LambdaSchool @1517fund @zslayback


Kitty kitty kitty!

Témo@temosir
                  12 Jul 2020

                oh to be a cat in a raincoat walking gracefully through the rain


Check out what you might apply for on the Founder Grants site!


Lol I am a noise maker and say boop all the time. You have no idea how spot on this is for me.


Feline vet recommendation in SF?

p.s. not all DMs are me being grumpy and dealing with bs.


He is so sweet!


Started to realize about a week ago that this whole “doing this for now” mentality is much longer than my brain and hold on to.


@neeljsomani What sort of adjustments?


@made_in_cosmos @artpi Congrats! And ZOMG I love your dress.


Following the Dalai Lama is a 10X on my feed.

Dalai Lama

                    @DalaiLama

                  13 Jul 2020

                Regarding other human beings as our brothers and sisters can make our lives happier and more meaningful. Some people think that when we cultivate compassion and affection for others only they benefit—in fact, we ourselves derive great benefit and satisfaction from such conduct


It’s an honor to support good work.


@Erikals7 @DEQUANCORONADO @zslayback potential bug!


Nope


@olgaserhi What changes did you make?


Well done!


Time to start working out of the minivan!


@GwenInvestor Hopalong and Milo Foundation are excellent!


Doing it right

Farhaj Mayan

                    @farhaj

                  16 Jul 2020

                Everytime I need to get humbled I just go work at one of our farms undercover boss style lmaoo.

They had us do a deep clean of the whole facility after transplanting clones today (10k+ sq ft). GG 🥴


If you’re not following Jeremy, he’s one of the coolest cats I know.


Laura was only 17 when she started working on her fund. Incredible progress.

Laura 🌲 ⛰

                    @LauraDeming

                  17 Jul 2020

                Congratulations to ALX Oncology! Currently, 3/6 companies from Longevity Fund 1 have IPO'd, and the remaining 2/6 have drugs in the clinic.

nasdaq.com/articles/immuno-o…


We can shape cultural context. Abide by it and it shapes us.

iorena@limitoftruth
                  16 Jul 2020

                I sometimes resent the fact that it's not socially acceptable to tell people you love them unless they're a very close friend or spouse


p.s. if we have met more than a couple of times there is something I love about you at a minimum.


Made a connection off Twitter recently with a young man who is super passionate and pumped, but also not putting their best foot forward. Here's a little on how to showcase yourself as crazy awesome over just crazy.  loom.com/share/71aef7251a204…


@crdelavega_ Thanks!


@BenjaminGreeley Do you still come off as crazy now? What’d you’d change?


@BenjaminGreeley Getting a handle on things is so important!


@lshufro Thank you Lisa! So good to see you!


@patcorbett So ah, what are you going to change?


It’s so true. I did neurofeedback a couple years ago for something like ADHD and had no idea they “calm alert” was a state that I could be in.

Replying to @benjamingreeley @BenjaminGreeley


Have you seen the stuff floating around about object permanence and ADHD? That was a 👀 moment for me.


@BenjaminGreeley CC @LouisAnslow


@Louizos It’s also how one communicates their ideas. Coherency goes a long way.


@patcorbett Lol now I kinda want to make buttons for this.


I see programs/funds popping up to work with students to be a very good thing. There is no shortage of founders who need support. But yes, we’ve been at this for ten years and proud to lead!

Replying to @shayanneleft @William_Blake @1517fund


That said on the venting side, I’ve also had programs/funds like this come to me to “pick my brain,” copy what we do, and then give zero credit or acknowledgement. That’s a cookie froster right there 😤

Replying to @DStrachman @William_Blake @1517fund


@shayannneee @William_Blake @1517fund 🙏


Lol The Moody Blues

Waco Symphony@WacoSymphony
                  16 Jul 2020


And strangely enough I was posting about a guitar solo of theirs on FB today.


@paul_a_smith JEALOUS!!!


@paul_a_smith Lol I know. My dad took me when I was about 12 :)


@bmmashat 11


First step is noticing it.

A second step is saying hello to it.

And a third is asking it if there is something it wants you to know.

Keep building a relationship here. Get to know it. Be gentle and it can become softer to be with.

Micah Baldwin

                    @micah

                  18 Jul 2020

                As a founder actually relaxing is hard.

There is a constant low hum of anxiety in the back of our brains.

Accepting that it is there (and that it will be ok) is the first step to taking a breath and slowing down.

And, yes, it never really goes away.


If you’re interested in this type of work check out Internal Family Systems. A great book is Self Therapy.


@HITInvestments @1517fund It’s SO good! I review every few years :).


It dawns on me today that a spoof of “Under the Sea” as “I’m a VC” would be hilarious.

🎶 I’m a VC, I’m a VeeCeeEe. Early stage startup. Let’s get those markups. Take a term sheet from me 🎶


Lol I love making spoof songs. So keep watching at least for a full length of this one.


Oh yeah, totally crafting out how this would go. Happy to collaborate 😄


DM me :). I want to see some karaoke video!


@Erikals7 So good!


You gotta work on your verse and meter!


@DylGambardella You do know that I’m mapping out this whole montage video and having you and Justin pop up for a cameo right? 😁


Teens often ask me what they can do to better themselves for their futures. Joining groups that expand your world view with peers that expend past your hometown is a good one. On the face of it, this program looks great!

Long Now Foundation

                    @longnow

                  17 Jul 2020

                Long Now has partnered with Avenues: The World School (@Avenues_org) to offer a program on the past, present, and future of #innovation. blog.longnow.org/02020/07/17…


Lol the montage is creating itself in my mind. The bit where the background singers continue singing “Under the Sea” is where cameos of funds come in. More schenanigans soon. Warm up those voices. @Erikals7 @HustleFundVC @villageglobal @PrecursorVC @alexiskold @lpolovets


@BenjaminGreeley @MikeBloomberg 😂🤣


@karensalay @snigdhar0y I’m torn on costumes. What do you think?


@karensalay @snigdhar0y I’m also more a fan of the homemade ones. Hmmmm 🤔


@karensalay What a fluffernutter! I love calicos.


@DaleJStephens If you make me a homemade Sebastian costume, consider it game on!


@DaleJStephens Perfect 🦀


Stop it


:( so sorry


Sounds like the Invisible College to me!

Steve Schlafman

                    @schlaf

                  21 Jul 2020

                I want to see a school that:

•Has no majors
•Focuses on independent study
•Preaches curiosity and exploration
•Awards no grades
•Optimizes for collaboration
•Provides advisors / coaches
•Encourages public sharing
•Teaches mastery
•Sells personal transformation


Bingo. This 1000%

Michael Seibel

                    @mwseibel

                  20 Jul 2020

                Replying to @mwseibel
                In reality customers are the gatekeepers of the startup world.  If your product can get customers and retain customers, investors (including YC) will happily to give you money.


What is something you learned today?


@gefencodes Then what’s your favorite thing you learned today? :)


@ericwdolan Woah tell me more!


@ericwdolan Fascinating!


@theaniekanumana Makes sense


@yatinsinglays ^ taking one for the team


@bmmashat Expand on this!


I did three hour long zoom talks today. Past self, you did it wrong!


@masaakifuruki Super hugs!!!!!


@jihadkawas @alexiskold


Caught me 🤣

Austen Allred

                    @Austen

                  21 Jul 2020

                The world moves so fast.

It’s really important to make sure to take time to slow down, step away from your computer for a minute, and pull out your phone to check Twitter and email.


Mike Solana

                    @micsolana

                  21 Jul 2020

                listen my thing with UFOs is pretty simple either this is the greatest joint media / government conspiracy of all time (and to what possible end?) or there really are unidentified flying objects in US airspace that defy the laws of physics and HELLO EITHER WAY THIS IS A BIG DEAL


Preach!


@nickarner @rivatez 🐈 Twitter is my 🍯. Try adding a 1/2 tablespoon of pumpkin purée to the food.


Was going to ask what programs the soul went into next. Thanks for kicking it off!


He’s not bored. He’s inspired.


I think @William_Blake would say a resounding yes.


Why is everybody and their brother starting a construction company startup right now?


But why right this minute? I am seeing probably at least one construction pitch/week.


@erikpavia 🤣


I love when people espouse offering empathy without offering empathy.

Replying to @erichdeoliveira @AmandaMGoetz


Getting used to doesn’t mean that it should be put up with.


Two main concepts. One is managing contractors and the other is taking the industry off paper.


@shaklakhani Snark and mean are necessary but not sufficient characteristics for becoming a thought leader.


@davistfoster @friedmandave Excellent summation!


You mention that empathy might be needed for the people missing the meeting but what about you offering empathy to Amanda for her experience before telling her to be empathetic.


You got in earlier lol. Doesn’t count!


@clangfordvc But this was all true last year too.


Hm two adds today on IG around startup stuff. Stop it!

Me on IG:


Y’all sound like you have joined a cult 🤣

Replying to @endingwithali @emmalsalinas


@adrianscottcom


@mathewpregasen No need to apologize! Opinions welcome!


@rogerdickey Is this the new navel gazing?


@clangfordvc I’m just seeing a huge uptick in construction pitched the last few months in particular. So just trying to think about this time frame specifically. One of our first investsments was in the space about 4 years ago.


I added yogurt to a cornbread recipe since I didn’t have milk and it was fabulous.


@DaleJStephens Fascinating!


@freddjohns You can have mine :)


🤣...he’s not wrong!

Alex Lieberman

                    @businessbarista

                  23 Jul 2020

                How do people who go viral get anything done?

I'm at 13 likes, my ego is off the charts, and I've been staring at the notification bell for 30 minutes straight.


It's actually Sister of Night but whatevs.

💻 Sherrod

                    @sherrod_im

                  24 Jul 2020

                What is the best Depeche Mode song and why is it Just Can't Get Enough?


@sherrod_im The real question is how haven't you aged in 20 years? What's your secret?


Ask and you shall receive! Happy Friday!


@sherrod_im Appreciate the transparency!!


I've got a lot of it :)


@hazesyah


This guy was trying to sell me a list of restaurant phone numbers for marketing purposes. This wasn’t just unsolicited it was also irrelevant.


I actually don’t mind unsolicited emails at all. I don’t expect people to know someone to get in touch with me. But at least be relevant or hell, even tangentially relevant!


I get lots of asks to be pitched by degreed founders. Our whole not having a degree thing isn’t a gimmick for attention, it’s a thesis for making investments. Yes, we want to predominantly work with founders without a piece of paper burning a hole in their pocket. Sorry!


I don’t blame people for trying. There aren’t that many preseed investors out there. So I get it! We were pitching an LP who asked how many of our founders didn’t have degrees and when he learned it’s the majority he said, “Wow you’re actually following your thesis!” Le sigh.


It’s not just about cost. It’s about opportunity cost and sunk time. And mostly for us about being willing to go against the status quo — not an easy thing to do but something we find very admirable!


I like this! If you have suggestions on entrepreneurial programs serving this population, I’m all ears!


Someone on Twitter is calling the awkward interactions my type of sports...they’re not wrong!


The best is when I meet other VCs, share our thesis...and then they tell me that I MUST meet the team they just backed with 4 PhDs. Ummm were you listening?! 👀


@BenjaminTseng True story.


@giladrom Hi hi!


@giladrom I love animals! Would love to learn more. Email me :) danielle@1517fund.com


Nope :(


We do make exceptions generally for what we deem sci fi tech. But there are other great funds out there like @villageglobal @HustleFundVC and @alexiskold that will be very happy to have degreed founders.


@giladrom Yay!


Yup!


@silasadedoyin Sadly working with North America.


@Paavasa2 @snigdhar0y Is it courageous to say that I can’t stand his tweets? 🤣


@Paavasa2 @snigdhar0y But I do think it’s good advice here :)


Where is the line between cult and culture?

Justin Mares

                    @jwmares

                  27 Jul 2020

                Curious who will be the first VC to fund a religion:
- massive TAM
- strong network effects
- huge customer LTV
- tax advantaged structure
- most competitors are hundreds of years old
- addresses lots of problems of modernity (meaning, community, etc)


Ohhh that was good! Thank you! Also loving the page straight out of the book. More tweets like this please!


@samNsatt Lol yes if someone comes out of another 5 - 7 years of school and didn’t make the most of it, that’s a huge loss!


@Jamayal Reach out through our contact form or DM me!


@anoroozian I value their work, I just don’t fund it. There are plenty of other sources for that. I love when people think that helping out the underdog means that there is something wrong with those who already have advantages and that they should get even more.


If you start the cult, I’ll fund it!


@anoroozian Fair enough


Sold!

Replying to @gigaj0ule @adammunich @alisontarwater


@jprato Say more!


@katylevinson Brilliant as always


This is mighty awkward considering that in the early days of Marcy I spent a decent chunk of time with Reuben talking about how to strategically go about raising money for a nonprofit and introducing him to advisors. Reporting on us incorrectly is a shame and insulting.


@packyM Appreciate your response. I think the tweet is more abrasive than the article. The majority of our time is at events that bring in students from an entire region rather than just a single school. Any founder who pitches us can tell you that we never ask what school they went to.


Really appreciate your response Packy. Probably the best interaction that I could hope for over Twitter!


1517 is making our way to Montana for a first team retreat in Glacier! Haven’t gotten the band together in over five months. Two guitars, four team members, and the mountains await!


We will be driving through Nevada and Idaho. Got neat places to stop? Planning to drive about six hours a day with little excursions for breaks.


Also totally happy to stop by and do drive by hellos 👋


@everettpberry Michael never leaves home without it. It’s his woobie blankie.


@everettpberry Lol and will make sure to get a pic of him with it on the road. Where does this book NOT go?


@everettpberry Hmmm funny I like my stuffed animals.


@Jonas_Sota Planning on more Oregan on the way back!


@naarnett Jeep Life!


Lol this looks like Zak as absconded with you Nick. Let us know if you need help 🤣.


@Erikals7 That’s real life footage right there!


@DaleJStephens @LauraDeming @tiersaj


Watching closely :p


Lessons hard won: don’t practice with bear spray facing into the wind. #teambonding #15172020retreat #feeltheburn


Though it stung we are all laughing hysterically.


It’s ok. I can just say here that you were the one to fire the canister. But that was on my promoting that we are supposed to practice so we know how to use it. We learned!


Who let VCs into the woods?

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                    @DStrachman

                  3 Aug 2020

                Lessons hard won: don’t practice with bear spray facing into the wind. #teambonding #15172020retreat #feeltheburn


@AdamPerschke My understanding is that it’s less potent than human grade. But yes, there was running!


I think it’s great. When I was working with homeschoolers, I always wanted a full time gig like this.


So fun to chat with you! Thanks!!


@ericbahn Favorite Lo-Fi EVAH! https://youtu.be/c5K0znZXIo4


If I didn’t have Twitter I’d just have to facepalm into an infinity mirror. Thanks Fam 🙏


And yes, this (dodge and deflect while staying nice) is what women are largely taught to do with inappropriate questions from collegial types (this is someone who wanted to be an LP in our fund — we passed).


And yes, this is real.


@karensalay The “nicely dodged!” part is basically the worst thing to me. Like I can’t even claim that this was just stupid or naïveté. It was willful 🤢🤮


@karensalay My internal narration was, “Oh man, really? I’m glad I’ve got my friend Twitter on speed dial for this shit!”


For what it’s worth, I see it as rude and unprofessional but not vulgar. But thank you!


A friend used to say, “Normal is normal for a reason.”

QC

                    @QiaochuYuan

                  7 Aug 2020

                in japanese they don’t day “normie” they say “reaju” which means “satisfied with reality” and i think that’s beautiful


Now I wish I had answered with:

I used to love him,
But I had to kill him.
Had to put him,
Six feet under.
And I can still hear him complain.


@Leann_Abad Not over text anymore. I remember when people used to flip their shit seeing “ur.” Those were the days!


About to close off the 1517 road trip with an eight hour drive through Oregon and CA. We binged Winds of Change, a conspiracy theory podcast about the CIA and The Scorpians. What should we binge for the remainder of the drive that we can finish and is fun + informative.


@Leann_Abad I think this means you would score higher in the OCEAN Big Five personality test for conscientiousness.


@morty_lin It wouldn’t be smooth if it was still inappropriate.


Text her at 867-5309.


Take advice from your self who is 20 years older than you are now.


Dolly Parton’s America is Ah-mazing! If 1517 ever had an office again we are going to have a Dolly shrine!


@michaelrbock Awesome! Just listen.


Agreed. I think it should be a litmus test for anyone we bring onto the team in the future. If you can’t hang on the road, it’s a no go.


Subscribing!


@everettpberry Oh can’t wait!


Been on the “y’all” train for years. I love it and have never lived in the South.

Alex Cohen

                    @anothercohen

                  10 Aug 2020

                Normalize saying "y'all" in the workplace


I do! Met a lot of great new folks that way.


@mhartl How do I join the club?


Does anyone have a cheat sheet? Haven’t done the reading! Don’t tell Gibson.

Replying to @RobTerrin @William_Blake @_dmca @LeviNunnink @justuseapen @vboykis @Sairee @zslayback @naarnett @saintdostoevsky


@scheff61 Sold


What if people want to watch reality school TV? Met the founders of The Buzz today and it's just such a neat concept! Is the new unboxing watching students learn science? That'd be cool. thebuzzscience.com/whatisthe…


@AdamPerschke Agreed!


As someone still growing (aka under 24 years old) I’d be careful about fasting too much. I haven’t read anything on the topic but my hunch is that a major deficit in calories before you get to max height is probably not a great idea.


Also I just have to add that IF has also been used to justify eating disorders. And for some the line is pretty thin. Be mindful of motivations <\mom level rant>


Yeah for men it’s about 24 and I think women tops out a little earlier.


@snigdhar0y Penguins back!


@snigdhar0y That’s tall for middle school though so you may have some inches to go!


@billwall10 Dolly! It was incredible. If we ever have a 1517 office again, there will be a Dolly shrine that I will encourage guests to bring an offering for.


Doing it right!

Dani Lyle@Danika_Lyle
                  10 Aug 2020

                if I could give any advice to my 8 year old self?

stop talking abt how much u like owls all the time. Ur about to get worthless owl things for every holiday until ur 20. Start talking about how much u like cold hard cash.


So fun making new connections in a time when it’s hard to get super jazzed meeting people over zoom but just met one of my twitter fam and it was SO FUN! Thanks for the extra energy this afternoon ☀


Dynamic indeed!


@adamscrabble @changedbydaniel Agreed! Just had a first zoom call and such an energy booster of a person. Who needs caffeine when you can talk to him!


On that one phone call my friend 📞

Eric Bahn 💛

                    @ericbahn

                  11 Aug 2020

                In my morning routine, I start off looking at my daily calendar of meetings and ask myself one critical question:

When will I have time to pee?


@DaleJStephens Mute is NOT enough!


@hemal That’s what I’m here for 🤣😂🤣😂


Great work at Root! Learned about y’all when I was in Columbia.


All of this!

Eric Bahn 💛

                    @ericbahn

                  11 Aug 2020

                One thing that I learned to do early in my career as a CEO was to set a 'social contract' with anyone new whom I'd work closely with. I found this to be a useful way to set rules/expectations on how to work together.

I wanted to share what I tell founders in our social contract:


Used it a few times now! Neat platform :)


I don’t see why not. DM me.


1517 is the proud investor in a space cadet! 💓🚀

Elliot Roth || SF

                    @ThatMrE

                  12 Aug 2020

                I am incredibly overjoyed and humbled to announce that I have been selected for a NASA analog space mission as part of the HI-SEAS crew. I will be headed to Hawaii to participate in a simulated lunar mission with some of the most illustrious scientists I've ever met


@ericbahn What have you learned about interacting on Twitter since growing your following?


Anyone have great tips for training yourself to sleep on your back? I’ve been trying to get there for years and am only partially successful.


@masaakifuruki On top of feet? I think I would be irritated by that!


I’m mostly a stomach sleeper and my neck and shoulders get wonky after too much of it. I don’t think side is much better for me.


@YourselfHelping I sleep on my stomachs mostly and it’s terrible for my neck.


@SomeKidNamedAki Will try this!


@insideNiMA What’s the leg position?


@dustin_dettmer Lol no.


@insideNiMA I do the figure 4 too!


We are a rascally bunch!


@SusannaLHarris @1517fund 👋 happy to chat! DM me :).


And this article may be helpful medium.com/1517/a-1517-anti-…


Brilliant!

Shahed Khan

                    @shahedkhan

                  12 Aug 2020

                Me buying a house in Texas and bringing it back to California


Used some of the tips like putting s pillow under my knees and slept great!!! Moved to my side a little bit here and there but overall stayed on my back. Thanks!


Talked to Ara recently and the product is pretty cool!

Ara Ghougassian

                    @araghougassian

                  13 Aug 2020

                Fluent is live on Product Hunt! @usefluent

Support us with a comment or review 👇❤
producthunt.com/posts/fluent…

Also Gavin, our CEO, surprised us with someone..


@KevinCrosby1 🤔🤣sounds good to me!


Making an executive decision —Moving forward at 1517 we will only wear clothing from this Etsy store. #dolly4life #antifleece etsy.com/shop/ClassicRockCou…


Srsly, I’d take a pay cut for these jackets.


@hazesyah Exactly!


@MelissaHDavis At least we all have something to strive for!


@adrianscottcom Should have ordered these before our retreat!


@DeannaRamirezTX Damn! Mike’s gonna have a hard time not pulling an Incredible Hulk in these. Still might be worth it 🤣


@DeannaRamirezTX Oh that is TERRIBLE!!


Curious for how one makes repairs. Is it enough to not do them anymore? It seems like for others to recognize that someone has turned around takes a specific set of ownership/responsibility, not doing the problematic things, and supporting the positive opposite actions/orgs.


Binged it last week. If we ever have a physical office again we are having a Dolly shrine.


Registered! One of my favorite orgs. Check it out!

Human Rights Foundation (HRF)

                    @HRF

                  13 Aug 2020

                NEWS: HRF is bringing the Oslo Freedom Forum directly to you as we gather virtually to witness world-changing activists sharing their personal stories. #WeAreResilient

🗓 Sept. 24-25, 2020
🌎 Free to attend
🎟 Register at oslofreedomforum.com


@dumarkusd Lol


Where my lefties at?


Cover blown!


@CUcheOnuora @bencasnocha @1517fund Sold!


@changedbydaniel Of course!


Rebecca Danta@RebeccaDanta
                  13 Aug 2020

                VCs who say they invest in underrepresented founders but then say on their website best way to reach them is through a warm intro...... 🤔


The date isn’t going well if you’re on your phone!


AND ESPECIALLY ONES NOT ON THEIR PHONE!!!!


Then you should be on here soliciting for extra good lines or figuring out new conversation topics :)


If you’re in a nice spot, take her on a walk somewhere. The date will feel a little richer/fuller if you change the environment a little. Fun fact: men are also better at more close conversation when not making full eye contact so a walk is great for that.


@jdanjohnson I have. And for my birthday my dad sent me a ton of lefty stuff this year. It’s a bit like the owl problem. Oh well!


@jdanjohnson Hahah oh my!


Just collecting lefties.


Lol my answer was going to be, “Because they love each other!”


@GwenInvestor Wow!


Loving this page out of A Wind in the Door. That last paragraph 💗


I bet they hold hands in the minivan while driving too!

Replying to @ericbahn @VinhTo @loganbartlett


@nickjsheriff Game!


@jasonwong @GwenInvestor It used to be common!


Bingo! And to do this well you must keep in touch with your companies. Random email updates aren’t enough. Slide extra cash in with that informational advantage when no one else is looking.


I 💗 Geoff. But the comment thread on this one is making me laugh so hard that I’m crying 😂🤣

Geoff Lewis

                    @GeoffLewisOrg

                  16 Aug 2020

                Temp Check w/Geoff — Nihilistic valuations [full video: youtu.be/BgVcJ4sLBwY ]


I kinda want to remake this in my shitty bathtub. It has duct tape lining where some of the molding has come off. Not sure it would have the same effect.


Yeah totally. Geoff is a mench too. He was SUPER helpful when I ran the Thiel Fellowship as a mentor and has always been very generous with his time for us at 1517 and with founders we’ve sent his way. Super grateful for him and his non nihilistic ways. But the lake kills me!


For me the cringe was more around how overtly sexual/flirty/attention whoring it would have been perceived as had Geoff been female. I suppose for him it is being perceived as a flex.


My dad said something great yesterday, “The person who said ‘pay yourself first’ never owned a business.” Damn straight.


@NickPinkston Unsure!


Alright, it’s evening on Sunday. Time to work on all that stuff we’ve been procrastinating on. I’m gonna have some super fun paying the bills for 1517. What are you doing? And come back to post “done” when done! Go!!!


@cindygallop Doing it right! Have a sip for me!


@DWorc You’ve got this! 🥛


@karensalay That’s not bad.


@jamiecayley I love your drawings!


@IMabercrombie 🍩 !!!


Done!


@harriskenny Congrays! And smart!


@karensalay You’re not making it easy to not do this.


Phew, room to grow!

logan bartlett

                    @loganbartlett

                  17 Aug 2020

                I am comforted by the fact that my screen time weekly report can’t just keep going up. Like 24 hours is the max right?


Started taking meetings with folks I’ve talked to before as phone calls last week. I had no idea I could do so many laps in my living room.

Erik Torenberg

                    @eriktorenberg

                  17 Aug 2020

                I prefer phone to Zoom so I can pace around like a crazy person.


@noreallyimfine


And delightful!

nicole ruiz

                    @nwilliams030

                  17 Aug 2020

                "Her training is purely western classical; her inspiration comes from the ancient modal chants of the Orthodox church. It’s a unique fusion and it sounds like nothing else."

theguardian.com/music/2017/a…


Wow heart wrenching. Thanks for the share.


@blindconfucius I don’t really like the optics of having to tell people it’s audio only when clearly we could be on video.


@blindconfucius Just seems like an extra 5 - 10 seconds of conversation I can save by it being clear from the get go that this is audio (even if I spell it out in the invite, people miss that).


@blindconfucius I don’t think I’ve noticed that audio is that much better to make a difference on my end.


I love the team at Stryx and really love their tag line: You more handsome.

dennis hegstad

                    @dennishegstad

                  19 Aug 2020

                just made my first angel investment into a men’s cosmetics & skincare DTC brand called Stryx.com

the stigma of men taking care of their skin and looks has been drastically changing over the years.

i’m very excited about the future of the space 🤠😊


@peteweishaupt I love Styx!


They should know that you’re really into classic rock.


@changedbydaniel @1517fund 💜💗💜


@fadifessa @changedbydaniel @1517fund Welcome! And thank you for the feedback :)


Disrupter


K - 12/Higher Ed can change only when the incentives at the top (hiring practices) change. Thrilled to see Google teaching and assessing! Excited to see how institutions following suit make school better for everyone.  inc.com/justin-bariso/google…


sis.


Sounds like we hired my dad. Was his Jenny who wrote Life After College? That first weekend was overpacked and I don't remember who this was.


@nickcammarata Hmmm approximate age/appearance of guy?


@nickcammarata His talk must have deeply imprinted on me. I have never bought a rug.


Yeah I remember the room. I especially remember us 30 year olds in the back taking furious notes. Glad some things stuck to those in front lol.


@nickcammarata Hm. I have some ideas. I’ll have to try to dig up the weekend schedule.


I think I may have found it! Only talk that had personal finance was Patrick Wolff — American chess grandmaster and cheap rug buyer.


@starsandrobots Getting to know my neighborhood around 4:30 and G and volunteering to setup the Headmaze on a whim.


One thing I am really missing is serendipitously connecting new people at social gatherings.

So, wanna play a game?

1. Raise a hand in the comments.
2. Two people down is who you get matched with for a spontaneous 10 min phone call. DM numbers.
3. No work talk.


@NickPinkston It’s just a sorting filter. You don’t apply through the site but it’s a way to filter what a team might be applicable for.


@NickPinkston Correct!


This is so fun for me since I know a bunch of you and see who you are matched with and am all Yes Yes Yes!! Good matches :)


@Kishoraditya_ Get creative!


Has anyone talked yet?!


Hmmm damn! Maybe just choose someone in the thread :)


@BobbyThakkar It’s two down of people with their hand up! Hand up means participating.


This was also the last date

Fay@FadzaiVeanah
                  22 Aug 2020

                I just went on first a date, the guy pinched my belly and said “I can help you get rid of this” I can’t believe this


@paul_r_doherty @DevDevnani Amazing! Did you and Dev pair?


I went to a Taoist meditation retreat last year that talked about how dreams are how we digest emotions.


Forgot about that part. Then go ahead and reply to someone and just go for it :)


You’re in for it!


@clinejj @dialup Fun! Nope!


Not a bad article on the subject. When I took a weekend course the teacher also stressed the importance of being in bed before you are tired. tao-yoga.com/en/articles/tao…


Most people should have 2 matches :).


@ParisPolaris @starsandrobots @pairiapp Congrats!


Thank you! Funny enough I’ve also been doing a little therapeutic work with people during covid. Feels great to offer something healing alongside working with founders.

Replying to @benjamingreeley @BenjaminGreeley @ItzSuds


Alright we’ve had a number of convos happen. What’s shakin on those calls?


Any maybe sometime this week I’ll host something on icebreaker.


Strange as it may sound, I’ve had a deep aversion to trying it out. I think it strikes me more like a networking play than a build community play when I’ve gotten invites. This is why I have the “no work talk” rule here. Connection > transaction.


@TrumpetisAwesom @corey_gwin @eriktorenberg So I haven’t done a deep dive here but I think the advice is to be in bed and doing something relaxing so that when you are restful enough to sleep you are already there. And the training is to consciously drift into sleep rather than passing out.


I actually don’t have a huge desire to meet more people. That’s 50% of my day already. But I love facilitating connection between people even if it’s random!


@jacksonfall It’s two people down who have a hand up! (Which also means it’s two people up who have a hand up)


@ransomthoughts I’m facilitating this :)


@ransomthoughts It’s actually not what I said. I miss connecting people at gatherings (essentially by hosting them). It’s not that I miss connecting *with* new people so much since a lot of my work is connecting with new people. But I do miss it some especially when it’s not transactional.


@tiersaj 😔


Just got asked to share a personal “fun fact” and I wrote up a bunch. See comments. What are some of yours?


Fun fact: I cannot sip a hot beverage without making the “ahhhh” sound on the first taste (this drives @zslayback crazy). I am also a human garbage disposal and eats chicken wing bones.


@imdilick Wow!


Fun fact: In high school I was a competition level clarinetist in Massachusetts.


Fun fact: My first full time job was working as a psychometrician testing cognitive functioning and intelligence. My favorite part was writing up behavioral assessments about patients. I also used to be an animal trainer.


@mattschaar 🎶


@gaby_goldberg Interesting. I read late but forced my younger sister to read  early.


Also a premie!


@fotsch1 Not true! Let’s hear some!


@payfrit Video please!


@payfrit It's all due diligence


I was speechless when we walked into their manufacturing facility about 3 years ago. Today I am completely dumbfounded.


We have worked with Austin since he was a 17 year old applying to the Thiel Fellowship and we started 1517 to support him and other dropout founders. We didn’t know if his ideas were crazy or crazy awesome. Now the world knows. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…


Also me:


@DanielleFong @William_Blake Fuck yeah!


Thank you :)


Well said! And reality is still sinking in for me. Did not expect the news to be public this morning! Lol


That’s me but way too fast. Slow that down 100X and we might have where I’m at this morning.


@RyanBethencourt Thank you!


@mathewpregasen @zslayback I don’t think so


Lol that is me and @zslayback!!!


Replying to @fpontaza @1517fund @luminartech @William_Blake


@shayanneleft @1517fund @luminartech Not quite our entry point and don’t forget dilution! But we have some muscle 💪🏻


@shayanneleft @1517fund @luminartech Absolutely! Wish the math were this easy though :)


Ah, that’s Vitalik!


When did “I bought you a coffee” become a thing? It was cute the first time I saw it, now it just seems obnoxious.


Best thing I’ve seen is a Loom video update from a founder reaching out to their investor list and it wasn’t even personalized.


@WillManidis Sketch!


@shayanneleft @ArlanWasHere @JillFilipovic @KateClarkTweets @chrisyeh @trymyfab Just went to their twitter and they don’t have anything up to retweet!


@nthnryn @sfrancisatx We haven’t put something out like that and we don’t work at the foundation anymore but in general only a handful went back to school. Many continued with their work, some got hired, and a good handful have had extremely good outcomes.


Lol apparently my feed is scary. I’m an easy to be with person, I also just know when to call a spade a spade and use twitter for venting that.


@inababi Many! I’ve met many wonderful people off twitter.


Well, approximately 1 in 20 people we worked with has created a $1B opportunity. So statistically the odds are very good for Thiel Fellows to have a very favorable outcome. Can’t say 1 in 20 students at X university have that outcome.


And it also depends on what you call survivorship. Getting a job wasn’t the outcome of our program but it’s a far better outcome than many college grads get.


She was looking for some life advice on finding purpose as a teenager. Very happy to help with that.


Mostly agree. It’s usually the sloppiest slide in the deck. I want to see go to market info more so.

Jordan Odinsky

                    @jordanodinsky

                  25 Aug 2020

                Hot take: Market size slides in pitch decks should be abolished.


Undergrad, high school, and dropouts -- I want to fund you with $50K to work on getting started on research and development for the deep tech, science, and technology plays of your dreams. Send me your geekiest ambitions! 1517fund.com/post/invisible-…


We've heard hundreds of IC pitches so far and are most inspired by applicants who have a fire in the belly for doing something really hard and outlandish. I want to be asking, "is this person crazy or crazy awesome" after going over your ideas!


If you want to apply (or know someone who should), you can apply at our contact form or just send us a 5 minute Loom video (info@1517fund.com) geeking out about what you want to work on and how $50K gets you started. 1517fund.com/take-action


Our team at Zeno started as an Invisible College investment (before we called it the IC) in July of 2018.  medium.com/1517/zeno-clean-r…


@chiaseedpuddin @DevshiMehrotra Would love to hear more!


Would love to hear more about it!

Replying to @ItzSuds @jzlegion @divalbanerjee @_lychrel


We have also built a community of social geeks and like minded peers. So it's not just about investment if that's not a fit for you or because of immigration issues.


@AmandaMGoetz Practice makes perfect but this is why I don't do Tik Tok lol


@astro_shenava Message me more about who you are and what you're working on and we'll go from there. It's a curated group :).


@AmandaMGoetz This IS practice :)


@Noureddinbakir Knowledge is on a spectrum for sure! And yes all sounds good, message me!


@DAytonShenker Thanks Diana! Likewise :)


@imthedronelord @1517fund We have invested in about 30% underrepresented founders and growing :)


@imthedronelord @1517fund Not sure what you mean by waiting on a check here since one hasn’t been offered but I hope you get the funding you are looking for.


You’ve been abrasive enough with me over time that I have no reason to assume a joke from you.


@imthedronelord @1517fund I can get you numbers but we don’t fund minority founders different from other founders. On average it’s a $250K check. Also do you make a distinction between Black vs Brown? We have Native American founders, Lebanese, Pakistani, African American, etc.


Omg. Might I be a coinvestor with Rocky?!?!! 🥊

Sylvester Stallone

                    @TheSlyStallone

                  26 Aug 2020

                Replying to @luminartech
                It’s great to be part of LUMINAR , congratulations Austin! Keep punching, Sly


YES!!!

Retro Coast

                    @RetroCoast

                  26 Aug 2020

                Replying to @DStrachman
                Hey Danielle, we need a @thielfellowship for the oldsters.

How about a 2 week program for people old enough to have seen Nirvana in concert? 🤣🤣


Thanks for believing in us back then too! It was a leap for all 💗


@SeyoneC @astro_shenava Yup!


@robfields @tylercowen Actively seeking and funding them!


Sly + Luminar

Danielle Strachman 💗 🐈 💃 🪴 🎸 🎨 🐕

                    @DStrachman

                  26 Aug 2020

                Omg. Might I be a coinvestor with Rocky?!?!! 🥊


I also recommend skipping. It’s an excellent mode of transportation.

Malik☂@maliktheoracle
                  24 Aug 2020

                Replying to @maliktheoracle
                if you’re having a bad day. Just frolic. I promise you’ll feel better ❤ thanks y’all


@DanHardman That’s pretty good. What brought on the sashay?


@DanHardman Sounds like damn good ice cream!


Don’t ask personal/inappropriate questions in business meetings.

Replying to @hazesyah @AmandaMGoetz @myfriendjanine


Also accepting cereal box pitches at 1517!

Hustle Fund 🦛🌽💛

                    @HustleFundVC

                  28 Aug 2020

                This is one of the more clever snail mail pitches we have received...

Actual pitch on back of cereal box!


How is this a for real gov entity?

US Consumer Product Safety Commission

                    @USCPSC

                  28 Aug 2020

                birds are real


Just had a fun call with a founder getting started on a new product. I’m reminded that a lot of my work is to listen to people telling me about their dreams. I love that so much!


@roshovani DM me


@Mastro_Frankie Thank you!


@docimranhaq Save yourself the postage, just DM me :)


Practice distraction on Zooms a bit like meditation. Notice the pull to open a tab, look at the phone, wonder into the mind, etc and then gently center back on who you’re connecting with.


RIP VC Brags🙏


@vimalbhaya That works for tabs but doesn’t work so much for thoughts running wild. But yeah, a great thing to do!


Pro tip: When providing customer diligence references for an investor, pick those who you ran a full sales process on. Your friend, mentor, or batchmate is a great personal reference but the person who you sold to cold is a much stronger signal.


@NPDeMember I was all about the car. So funny how we seem to latch onto a particular piece. Enjoy!


@cullend @NPDeMember Ohhh I still have a visceral repulsion to the boat. I have no idea why. I think it was very sharp. Didn’t like that.


@karensalay I like that!


Cofounder issue:

“We have different expectations of what it means to put a lot of time into this project.”

The level of maturity and framing this cofounder wields astounds me...

...and he’s 15 years old. The kids are alright.


What are your opinions on sending a deck to get an intro? My take is that a deck is marketing material more so than substance at the preseed/angel round so when doing intros I like to include them.


I was all, “Did he really just say that!!?!” 🤯 So impressed.


He also asked excellent questions and took notes during the meeting. Conscientiousness at any age matters but wow, to start at this level so young is really impressive.


@friedmandave Yeah I always say that decks are a pale comparison to a founding team but there is also something about seeing work product that feels important to me. And of course I want them to have those bullets in the deck or better yet in their blurb that accompanies the deck.


Lol and he just followed up with a LinkedIn connection (I’m now one of 18 that he has). A few more years and maybe he will become a portfolio founder.


@LandonAinge Oh yeah. To me it’s not an intro unless it’s double opt in. There are a few times I’ve made intros without it but not the norm.


@robertmclaws Oh yeah, always ask before sending on materials. And marketing materials are really hard to do well, that wasn’t meant as a slight in the least! I’m talking more about a founder when they want an intro but don’t want to send along a deck. Seems a little short sighted to me.


Same! Our internal joke is that we get older every year but our founders stay the same age. Not fair!

Michael P Gibson

                    @William_Blake

                  1 Sep 2020

                Always makes me feel a little older when thiel fellows get married.


Lol I used to call him Uncle Mike at the foundation and he would get SO pissed. Hopefully grandpap is an upgrade.


@DaleJStephens What made me feel old was looking at your photo on an inaugural Thiel Fellowship post! Babies! Such fresh faces :)


@DaleJStephens And looked it up yesterday because of the reunion Zoom :)


@CLabanz I don’t have to imagine, I was one :).


@CLabanz That is pretty good. Haha!


@dagreen77 Not so much the latter but I’d be interested in seeing that!


@DaleJStephens Totally Baby Gay!


Thx!

Replying to @louis_alpert @jgproduct @1517fund @William_Blake @thielfellowship


@gefencodes It’s so good!


It would also be a way to massively show your maturity level.


Lol guess what padawon, you don’t have the reputation capital to burn.


And even if you did, I’d prefer to see leaders who led with substance over flash/shock value.


My dad grew up thinking that broccoli was a green soup like goo until a friend ordered broccoli in a restaurant when they were in their 20s and he was damn near shocked that it was shaped like a tree.

Charles Hudson

                    @chudson

                  2 Sep 2020

                Some days it feels like a big part of adult life is realizing that vegetables you didn’t like eating boiled growing up are quite tasty when roasted


Long chicken wings 🍗

Alex Kantrowitz

                    @Kantrowitz

                  2 Sep 2020

                Put this man in the debates


Saw a survey last night from a group sourcing funding for women that included mandatory questions about sexual orientation, family status, age, etc. Was surprised not to see asparagus pee gene type on there which would have been just as apt as the other bullshit questions.


@founderannie Exactly!


@karensalay #fail


@payfrit @ItzSuds YMMV


Wabi sabi!


Wait what? I’ve been using “best” for at least a year.


@PezeshkiCharles I used to use “cheers” and switched to “best.”


@VapidVc Does this make you the short form version of VCBrags?


@CLabanz Uh just the name feels cold to me. But I get it.


I want to come back as an IG cat. Adoring fans, travel, and always photogenic.


@Louizos LUCKY!!


Such a fun and novel conversation!

♪ 🌌🦌@librxrian
                  3 Sep 2020

                Replying to @librxrian
                Loved this wide-ranging conversation with @DStrachman!

We talked abt road trips, the present +potential future of edu, including her perspective working with a school currently in a situation that's rife with uncertainty+evolving moment2moment

Here's the promised photo of Mira!


@chiaseedpuddin Lol well then!


@dustin_dettmer Yes.


@dustin_dettmer But I mostly end them with exclams!


You too know what it’s like!


Looking to work with one of our companies?

1517 Fund

                    @1517fund

                  4 Sep 2020

                🚨 Our portfolio companies are hiring! 👀 🚨

👇👇👇

airtable.com/shrYB6NuMo2q0JA…


If they are non-PhDs and non undergrad of course :)


I’d say that we are looking at weaker *signaled* founders but not weaker founders over all. And you’re right, a lot of the people we work with tell us how refreshing it is that they don’t have to come in with certain credentials like going to the same schools as the GPs.

Replying to @FritzTheDev @EffJS @mgirdley @1517fund


Glad y’all are talking about this sort of thing. Paying it forward :)


I’m predicting that Loom will acquire them! :p

Replying to @ArafatMukasa @secondverseabc @loom @SperoVentures @MacConwell @William_Blake @1517fund @TakeInLocal @SlackHQ @Microsoft


Brilliant!


What is your experience being part of the group like so far?


@shayanneleft I love Rilke!


First day at @soraschools!


Do we get a reduction on the sunshine tax if there’s no sunshine?


@wilsonj12 I might take it!


I haven’t tried to reach understanding yet because I think it would turn me into puddle.


I did think about praying today.


Wrong day to choose SF.


This is true! Get here faster!


@EricaJoy


@AyushBarua9 DMs are open


Dani1000 over here!

Kien Lam@MeanMisterKien
                  7 Sep 2020

                can you imagine giving yourself a screen name when you are 13 years old and then having it stick with you for the rest of your life

thank god i never became famous enough to forever be known as mightymoose2790


What are your favorite customer discovery reads?


I love seeing what people write in on our contact form. We ask for a fun fact:

“My favorite number is 3. I am a big fan of Taoism/Daoism. Big Formula 1 fan.”

I’m excited to talk to another Taoism fan. And he’s one off from my fav, 4. Love the varied interests. Meeting booked!


Can’t wait to do a coinvestment deal!

Josh Kopelman

                    @joshk

                  16 Sep 2020

                Pre-emptive Capital - a fund focused on pre-empting the best founders at company inception.

thisworldthesedays.com/preem…


@dfranc3373 @AmandaMGoetz Happy to chat!


Joined Oak, a Bay Area tech inspired monastery, for their morning activities on Wed and was humbled and struck that they chant/meditate for us all to be well in various forms for 2 hours before I even open my eyes in the morning. Check them out!

Guildfather

                    @tasshinfogleman

                  15 Sep 2020

                What OAK Needs, 2020

tasshin.com/blog/what-oak-ne…


I’ve wanted to see a book out there about artist/creatives experiences in use here. Dali is said to try to reach the state between wakefulness and dreaming by holding a cup in his hand and letting it drop to the ground so he’s catch that state. I wonder what else he was up to!


@Fatehpuriastar These are great! And I should clarify that we ask for a fun fact about the person writing in :)


@Fatehpuriastar I may gave to learn more about this! Thank you!


Elizabeth Yin 💛

                    @dunkhippo33

                  18 Sep 2020

                Replying to @dunkhippo33
                13) And that is what I believe investor kindness is. It's not writing a check in everyone - the reality is that's not possible.

But investors can give constructive feedback to try to make ppl & cos better. Investors may be wrong, but constructive feedback comes from a good place


Meditate with me today! Looking forward to Soryu’s sit and talk online. He has at least 20 years of training under his belt. This is a real treat!

OAK@OAK_mindfulness
                  18 Sep 2020

                Tomorrow's Saturday Sit will be a special one. Soryu Forall, the founder of Monastic Academy and MAPLE's head teacher, will be leading a talk, some guided meditation and a Q&A.

Join him tomorrow Sept 19th @ 2 PM PDT
meet.google.com/zie-ceof-ges


This is also the group in the Bay that I tweeted about the other day that I’m enamored with. Hope you can join!


@Charliexkilner It’s likely someone you already know. Don’t go looking for a cofounder. Look for someone to work on something with you for a weekend and slowly boil the frog. Asking someone to be your cofounder is like asking someone to be your spouse after the first date.


@ArafatMukasa Thanks for joining! I’m excited to have the recording too.


@ArafatMukasa @MonasticAcademy Will do!


I grew up here...


Didn’t get into Zork, in fact I don’t remember it!


@joelgrus What’s weird is that I never read the book. I can’t recall how we got through it. I remember a lot of trial and error.


Later I grew up here...


And here...I still love that car.


@DaveVescio Somehow my mom thought it was ok for me to see Born on the 4th of July when I was about 8. I recall it being pretty disturbing. And then there is that movie where the guy gets his teeth kicked into the sidewalk, American History X. Also saw that too young.


@ndneighbor


I learned on Twitter that ABBA got away with expensing their outfits to the business because apparently there was a law on the books that if something was too outrageous to wear on the street it counted as a costume. Henceforth @1517fund will wear these going forward.


@ClicWill2 @1517fund @William_Blake That’s an excellent point!


Remember when startups were cool?

Michael P Gibson

                    @William_Blake

                  21 Sep 2020

                Does anyone remember 13 years ago when startups made single shot Lip Dub videos? There was also one decadent one of some Facebook employees in Cyprus or Corfu some shit lipsyncing to Don't Stop Believing. I can only find one:

youtube.com/watch?v=nMuRWRqp…


@desireedawns @1517fund @William_Blake I wonder!


"There is a deep resource in the past. There is hundreds of years of knowledge that is waiting to be discovered and rediscovered." - Sadie Valeri @ the 1517 Assembly youtube.com/watch?v=Y_NxQNmG…


I can't emphasize enough how incredible this talk is...it gets at some very deep themes around learning, excellence, gate keepers, history being crushed, etc. I should watch this talk at least once/month. Of all the talks we had this is the most classic, timely, and powerful.


@ashleyzanders Exactly! The talk really spans across areas so well -- and the visuals here really hit it home! Thanks for watching!


Dance party with mom!! LOVE IT!


1. Someone asked me about what can be done when people young in their investment career get slammed on rating sites. I think there are a few problems in the industry that lead to these unfortunate outcomes.


2. First, it seems that people are encouraged to put their title as “VC/Investor @ Firm” when I don’t think it’s appropriate. If you’re not a GP, use your specific title. This helps spell out what you can and cannot be called upon to do and where responsibilities land.


3. That said, firms need to be MUCH clearer with people who are not GPs what protocol is when interfacing with founders (how to outline to founders what is a formal pitch meeting vs just an intro call for example) and how that firm delivers a no.


4. One type of no is something that the analyst or associate can deliver with confidence as there are more clear cases. “This is outside the scope of our work because (economics of deal, focus of work, etc).”


5. Let's say it's a no after diligence. Articulate why it's a no while throwing the GPs under the bus (after all it's their decision). “After sharing with the team, we decided that we can’t move forward because of X. Would love for you to come back when Y milestone is reached.”


6. The investor industry has a terrible bad habit and history of not showcasing who has decision authority, transparency into how diligence processes work, if they are deploying capital, if they are wasting a company's time by information gathering, and not giving a timely no.


7. All of these things lend itself to junior members of the team taking on criticism and hate that is not necessarily due to that person being unsavory to work with but because the system that they are in is broken and modeling great investor relations is few and far between.


8. It’s also easier to hate on the newer analyst than the GP because there is less potential retribution, back channeling, and also potentially less face time with the GP.


9. To those who want to rate “investors” — I’m all for rating overall firms and GPs. I think anyone you have an issue with outside of that can be better handled by attempting to contact someone else at the firm with your concerns or rating the firm entirely.


10. Ruining a junior person’s career when they aren’t getting halfway decent training is like being angry at an employee for being incompetent when leadership isn’t doing their job to bring that employee up to speed or give them professional development. Systems matter.


11. If you do get personally slammed online there are a few things I might suggest that may or may not be good ideas. YMMV.


12. Let it pass. Most of these rating sites are a flash in the pan. I’ve seen handfuls of them come and go very very quickly. And remember bad news seems to spread more than good which means that these sites have a marketing incentive for slams.


13. Write up your own statement if you believe the review is in bad faith. I’d really only recommend this if it catches major heat. Otherwise you might be blowing up a small issue far bigger than it would have originally traveled on its own.


14. Have the firm write a statement either taking responsibility for a habit they need to change in their firm (and therefore also enhance in professional development) or backing you up. Again would really only recommend if something picks up.


15/end. Cut them off at the pass. Have a sense on if you're being a positive influence. Make intros, give specific feedback, communicate timely, etc. You want founders to leave meetings maybe not happy about the outcome itself but happier and better for having met you.


And thank you to those who brought this issue to my attention and helped me to flesh out these thoughts over the last couple of days! You know who you are -- happy to say publicly but I know this is a sensitive topic so hit me up if you want a mention!