7 hours ago

How do I get SaaS investors to look at deep tech?

Deep tech (or frontier tech, as it is sometimes called) will be a mainstream venture category in the near future. There is still plenty of SaaS investing to be done, but I think we’ve passed the peak of digitising real-world workflow, media, and commerce. Alpha lies elsewhere. SaaS investors must look at deep tech The next waves…

3 min read

2 days ago

How ‘technical’ does one need to be to be a deep tech investor? What are the foundational elements of knowledge that one should have in possession?

No two deep tech investors are the same. Some are very technical, trained in science and able to go deep into the foundations of an invention. Some are from entirely different backgrounds. It is helpful to understand the science, but it is not core because we are investors, not scientists…

2 min read

Jan 17

Art as a primary job inside a startup

What does this image show? Does it make you feel anything? When a founder works closely with an artist, they can unlock understanding and opportunity. This picture is the result of a collaboration between Professor Michael Biercuk (Q-CTRL Founder) and his third employee, Damien Metcalf for Fire Opal. Look at…

1 min read

1 min read

Art as a primary job inside a startup

What does this image show? Does it make you feel anything?

Find illumination from algorithms run on today's quantum processors with Fire Opal | Q-CTRL

When a founder works closely with an artist, they can unlock understanding and opportunity. This picture is the result of a collaboration between Professor Michael Biercuk (Q-CTRL Founder) and his third employee, Damien Metcalf for Fire Opal.

Look at…

Nov 16, 2022

Simon Sinek’s guide to playing the infinite game

Simon Sinek’s The Infinite Game: How Great Businesses Achieve Long-lasting Success lays out what to do differently when playing the infinite game. Principles for the infinite game Here are Sinek’s principles and my response to them. #1 — Advance a Just Cause What am I trying to get done… that will always be bigger than I can complete? It needs to…

2 min read

Nov 15, 2022

What is the infinite game? Here’s your cheat sheet

Tweaking my decision-making with the infinite game mindset. I have found it to be a key to imagining (and building) a world of abundance and opportunity vs a world of scarcity and conflict. The idea was first articulated by James Carse in his book: Finite and Infinite Games. Here are…

1 min read

Nov 14, 2022

Playing the infinite game in venture capital

I have a little note at the top of my daily agenda. It is the first thing I read daily, reminding me how to conduct myself. It asks: Are you playing the infinite game? It completely changes my decisions, reduces my fear of failure and expands the possible impact. I am not playing to win. I am playing to keep playing. It helps me feel unstoppable. — 🖖🏻 I’m building out loud. Subscribe here — https://philmorle.medium.com/subscribe or follow me @philmorle

1 min read

Playing the infinite game in venture capital

I have a little note at the top of my daily agenda. It is the first thing I read daily, reminding me how to conduct myself. It asks:

Are you playing the infinite game?

It completely changes my decisions, reduces my fear of failure and expands the possible impact.

I am not playing to win. I am playing to keep playing.

It helps me feel unstoppable.

—

🖖🏻 I’m building out loud.

Subscribe here — https://philmorle.medium.com/subscribe or follow me @philmorle

Read this post and more on my Typeshare Social Blog

Nov 3, 2022

Lean down the mountain

When we learn to ski, we are taught to lean down the mountain when all you want to do is lean up. Quickly we learn that control comes from having the weight on our toes. When driving a Formula 1 car, the brakes don’t work well unless they are hot…

1 min read

Oct 31, 2022

Great news! Companies are not getting deals…

I think it is starting to happen. At last. Large organisations are saying “No”. Enterprise: “We’ll be carbon neutral by 2030” We are seeing customers feel the crunch of their 2030 sustainability targets. Only 8 years to go now, and boards and leadership of large organisations know it. Any new business that increases emissions will send them…

1 min read

Oct 30, 2022

Is your team waiting for permission instead of taking action?

Right now, how many things are not happening because someone is waiting for your permission to move forward? The rules of a company designed to control quality and safety can become a tax on the impact your team can have. What happens when you are busy? Add up the time…

2 min read

Oct 19, 2022

The counter-intuitive ‘Slam Dunk Financing’ that can be a founder’s secret weapon

The ‘Slam Dunk Financing’ approach is an important mental model for us at Main Sequence and has helped companies build successful funding rounds. We introduced it previously in 2018, and it appears to be used a lot in the community these days. What is a ‘Slam Dunk Financing’ and why do we focus on it so much? Venture financing works best when there are clear…

Venture Capital

3 min read