Would I Invest? One Question I Ask Myself To Be Sure...

Any new investment that we make at Forward Partners needs to go through an approval process. No matter who first met the entrepreneur or who did the subsequent analysis and due diligence, any investment decision requires the consideration of our Investment Committee. Investing at Forward Partners is team work.

Before I cast my vote in the committee decision I always ask myself one question:

Could I work for this entrepreneur?

I'm relatively new to the VC world. (I've been at Forward Partners now for just over a year).

However, I have been investing my time and my career in startups and growth companies since I first started work.

And I'm pleased to say, all of the startups and companies that I decided to work for in the past are all still going or have been acquired.

Whenever I took a job, a huge part of the decision was about whether I could see myself working with the hiring manager. Did I believe in them and was I prepared to follow?

I now ask myself the same question about entrepreneurs we are thinking of backing. Could I be part of this entrepreneur's team? Am I inspired by their vision? Do I believe they can do it?

It's a fantastic filter because it makes it personal.

And when it gets personal it gets real.

All my life I have invested my life into projects. If I'm not investing my own money, the best way to think about it is to ask whether I'd invest years of my life.