On to the fieldnotes...

What is something everyone can do, with no coaching, no fancy software, no investor psychology tricks and completely on their own in order to supercharge a future fundraise?

Between 2016 and 2020, I was deep in the world of venture-backed startups as a founder and CEO. I spent those years pushing myself to the brink, working 12 hour days 6-7 days a week, and grinding through holidays. I skipped multiple weddings of close friends. I neglected relationships.

The thing I learned most from that time is that the last 15% of juice you try to squeeze does very little to help you achieve your goals.  In fact, it likely does the opposite and sets you back.

This goes for the last 15% hours in the day, days in a week, and weeks in a year.

I know I won’t be the first or only one to recommend this, but the answer to all of this is rest.

**REST**

Work super hard when you’re working, and then rest.  Driving yourself to put in more time at severely depleted levels of effectiveness does nothing for you at best and at worst will lead to burn out.

Naval and others have talked about the idea of “work like a lion:”

I’ll co-sign this idea and give you another analogy from my experience.

Hard work is like living abroad. Rest is like visiting home. 

In 2006, at my first job out of college, I was assigned to work on a 6-month project in Tokyo, Japan. The moment I landed, my mind went into overdrive. Everything was new and exciting. I wanted to soak it all in and experience the adventure to the fullest. I was grinding it out at my job during the day and running around seeing sights, eating new food, and meeting people at night.  

The first month was an exhilarating sprint and I had an awesome time.

After a month though, the experience started draining me. Navigating a world where I didn’t speak the language and long hours at the office became difficult. I began enjoying my time in Japan less and less. I was getting much less out of my experience.

Returning home (rest / recharge)

2 months in, I was granted a trip back to the US. While at home, I ate American food, saw friends and family, and took my time living a slower life. 

The time back not only made me appreciate life in the US but also got me reenergized to go back to Japan.

When I returned to Japan, it was all new and exciting again. The foreign language wasn’t a drain, it was a challenge.  The cultural difference wasn’t a frustration, it was an adventure. The work intensity wasn’t a burden, it was an opportunity. 

I was invigorated to make the most of my time in Japan.

Rest to make the work exciting and new

If you’re like me, you’re excited by your work. It’s a fun adventure like living abroad in Japan was for me.  If you’re like me though, you’ll get tired of it after a while and lose your excitement to make the most of it if you don’t give yourself an opportunity to return home and rest.

This holiday season, make space for “a return home” and take some time off. Spend days away from your company with loved ones. Engage in fun activities far away from the world of your startup. When you get back from the holidays, it’ll be like jumping back into the adventure of a lifetime - building your company and pursuing that next fundraise.

Rest is one of the best hacks to supercharging your fundraise and the pursuit of any of your goals in life 🙏

Note to readers - I’m resting this week!

My team and I are practicing what we preach and taking this week off! No writing getting done this week so we’ll do a short message showing the results of our rest. I think you’ll appreciate the photos and the example we set.  Happy holidays everyone!

Smart Twitter Takes 

It’s super helpful to hear about how hard it is. You’re not the only one struggling and you can get it done…

------------------------

Grossly under appreciated fundraising tweet! I feel this all the time reviewing decks…

P.S. This is an offensively bad take. Flats all the way