As an investor, of course I clam up. I spend my days looking at the world in terms of risk-adjusted returns and cost benefit analyses, so why would I take a human capital risk? My entire business is based on my reputation and I've seen what happens to the men who get comments like "not the best with women at conferences" or "don't get him too close to your wife." It's limiting beyond your career. I can count on two h…
There is another side effect to this that I would add as a casual investor. My bar for getting involved in a US startup is much higher than it used to be, because it's hard to make uncomfortable changes that might be construed in the wrong way. I find myself investing more freely in other countries where there is more upside and less risk of a career-destroying media storm. China for example has all kinds of unique r…
If you are already invested? I find it's pretty easy as I really am only looking to back people who are open-minded, receptive and coachable in the first place as I hope I am. One of the most common criticisms I make is that someone backed the wrong head of sales, head of growth, etc. and folks almost always hear me out because I can be quantifiable (sales metrics) and bring a solution (someone better).