I’ve been angel investing in tech and consumer packaged goods (CPG) startups since 2008. Got very lucky on the start date.
Historically, I’ve specialized in helping companies cross the chasm from early adopters to their first ~100,000 mainstream users/customers, but I’ve ended up involved in investor intros, regulatory battles, founder health, crisis management, and lots of more fun-sounding things. Actually, those all overlap more than you might expect.
I don’t invest in many companies, but I’m still active. My portfolio for early-stage/private investing and advising includes the below, among 50+ others. I tossed in a few lesser-known names for fun:
Shopify (first advisor)
Facebook / Meta
Twitter
Uber (pre-seed round advisor)
Alibaba
Duolingo (series A)
Blue Bottle Coffee
CLEAR (first advisor)
TaskRabbit (first advisor)
Commonwealth Fusion Systems
Wealthfront
Nextdoor
AngelList
LALO Tequila
Huckberry
NoRedInk
Automattic
The Way
Maui Nui Venison
Nonprofit advising:
DonorsChoose.org.
QuestBridge.org
Most startups go to zero, and most of mine have gone to zero, but that’s an expected part of the game. For a good read on how this all works (or doesn’t), I recommend The Power Law by Sebastian Mallaby.
Related media coverage:
“The Invisible Selling Machine” — Fortune (Fortune link; Non-paywall link)
“The vital question TaskRabbit founder Leah Solivan wished she asked investors.” — Masters of Scale
“Tim Ferriss, 40 under 40.” — Fortune (Fortune link; Non-paywall link)
Related blog posts:
Revisiting Warren Buffett’s Advice to Me in 2008 (Plus: 7 Lessons for Young Investors)
How to Say No When It Matters Most (or “Why I’m Taking a Long ‘Startup Vacation’”)
How to Create Your Own Real-World MBA (I)
How to Create Your Own Real-World MBA (II)
Related podcast interviews from The Tim Ferriss Show:
Chris Sacca on Being Different and Making Billions (#79)
Naval Ravikant — The Person I Call Most for Startup Advice (#97)
Marc Andreessen — Lessons, Predictions, and Recommendations from an Icon (#163)
Ray Dalio, The Steve Jobs of Investing (#264)
Mike Maples — The Man Who Taught Me How to Invest (#286)
Ann Miura-Ko — The Path from Shyness to World-Class Debater and Investor (#331)
Howard Marks — How to Invest with Clear Thinking (#338)
Peter Mallouk — Exploring the Worlds of Investing, Assets, and Quality of Life (#356)
Graham Duncan — Talent Is the Best Asset Class (#362)
Ramit Sethi — How to Play Offense with Money (#524)
John Doerr on Picking Winners — From Google in 1999 to Solving the Climate Crisis Now (#543)
Edward O. Thorp, A Man for All Markets — Beating Blackjack and Roulette, Beating the Stock Market, Spotting Bernie Madoff Early, and More (#596)
Roelof Botha — Investing with the Best (#618)
Bill Gurley on Investing Rules, Finding Outliers, Insights from Jeff Bezos and Howard Marks, and More (#651)
Michael Mauboussin — How Great Investors Make Decisions (#659)