Founders spend months raising a round and minutes thinking about what the investor will be like afterward. It should probably be the other way around. You’ll work with the people on your cap table for years.
Be useful, specifically
“Let me know how I can help” is easy to say and hard to act on. I try to offer specific things: an introduction to a particular customer, a review of a hiring plan, a second opinion on pricing. Specific offers get used.
Show up when it’s hard
Every company has a stretch where nothing works. The founders I’ve backed remember who called during those months far longer than who celebrated the good ones. I’d rather be useful in the bad quarter than visible in the good one.
Respect the founder’s decision
Advice is only advice. Founders hear from many people, and they’re the ones who live with the results. My job is to make sure they’ve considered the risks, then support the decision they make, even if I’d have chosen differently.
Keep updates simple
I ask for a short monthly update: what went well, what didn’t, and where help would matter. It keeps me informed without turning reporting into a second job for the team.
Stay for the long run
Good partnerships outlast a single company. Some of the founders I first backed years ago are now building their second and third companies, and some are investing alongside me. That network is the best thing any investment has given me.
