My Favourite Superfluid Posts for 2023 and a Survey for 2024!
My Favourite Superfluid Posts for 2023 and a Survey for 2024!
A quick review of 2023, and a small ask from me :)
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As I head out to New Zealand on holiday tomorrow, I wanted to compile a short list of my favourite posts I wrote in 2023. These posts typically gave me clarity on a topic that I had been thinking about deeply over the year or received plenty of feedback that made me question my assumptions, hypotheses and views.
I also have a short survey that should take no longer than 1 minute to complete. This will help me plan out my content for 2024 so that it’s more helpful and higher quality.
The Art of Crafting Your Startup’s Story
This might be one of my best pieces of writing this year. At the time of writing, I’d worked in VC for two years and was growing increasingly frustrated with the quality of pitch decks and the storytelling ability of incredibly smart founders.
I wrote this article in a state of exasperation. I then subsequently revised and added to it after talking to many people about the topic. Check out both versions below:
Version 1:
Version 2:
The Early-Stage Conundrum: Good vs. Great
This article was born out of a conversation with an early-stage founder earlier that week. I’d had these thoughts circulating in my mind and ended up talking through them with that particular founder. That conversation gave me a lot of clarity and reinforced what I actually believed, making it easier to write it out in article form and share with the rest of the world.
Product Vision Doesn’t Equal Commercial Sense
The concept of Commercial vs. Product should largely be aligned in a startup, but was sent in opposing directions through the zero interest rate period. Over the year, I met with a lot of talented product builders, who surprisingly struggled to think with the commercial acumen that I wanted to see, hence why I wrote this article.
Why Mega Funds Exist
Having previously worked as an Investment Consultant at Cambridge Associates, advising large foundations, endowments, family offices and pension funds and now as VC investor at Rampersand, I have a unique view of having sat on both sides of the funds’ management table. A lot of people don’t necessarily understand why and how VC funds can raise large funds and the downstream impacts of doing so. This article brings all of this to light.
Can you scale a Venture Capital Fund?
This article pairs well with the one above and is easily my most viral article. If you’re interested in learning about how you might go about building a large VC fund, and the incentive structures that drive these funds, feel free to give this a read.
A Pre-Seed Round Doesn’t Replace Hard Work
This might be my most direct and brutally honest piece of writing. I think the zero interest rate period led to a lackadaisical attitude amongst the founder community especially at the early stage. Without the right preparation, you’re going to fail. Building a venture-backed startup will undoubtedly be one of the hardest things you ever try. Whilst luck and chance will always be involved, it’s still crucial to put in the work and think critically about the business you’re going to build.
There you have it! 6 of my favourite Superfluid posts from 2023 :).
Let me know in the comments what your favourite post was from Superfluid or otherwise (I always love new reading recommendations!).
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Abhi