The job of a CEO is to manage the expectations of employees, investors, and the board. I learned to do that pretty well (I think). Now that I'm a full time investor -- I need to learn that my job as an investor is to manage the expectations
- first, of the entrepreneurs we want to do deals with,
- second, the investors in Founder's Co-op and
- third, the broader entrepreneurial community
I don't think I've done a good enough job of number 1 and 3. Today, in particular, I found myself in a conversation with an entrepreneur in whose business I had wanted to invest. I had previously told him that we were going to invest in his business contingent upon customer diligence. As time wore on, the economy (or credit) crashed and I got more familiar with his company's position, I ultimately decided that it would be better if Founder's Co-op didn't invest. That change in investing position -- while very common in all sorts of business deals -- always sucks from the entrepreneurs perspective. I need to do a better job at this! If the entrepreneur I spoke with today on the phone is reading this --please accept my apology -- I know I fucked up in our communication.
