What skill most improved your investment decisions?

BZ

Bilal Zuberi

Founder and Managing Partner · Red Glass Ventures

Being Commercial

Bilal Zuberi says being commercial is how he distills his thinking, because it means someone can sell, execute, deliver to market, and make money.

The answer starts at 38:58.

Bill Ackman

Founder and Chief Executive Officer · Pershing Square Capital Management

Weighting the Person

Bill Ackman says he weights the person more than the idea, because the original idea often isn't the one that turns out to be the success and the founder will hit a roadblock.

Shardul Shah

Partner · Index Ventures

Intuition

Shardul Shah says intuition—a gut feeling—is at the source of his investment decisions; he rationalizes it to pressure-test and exercise judgment, though he warns rationalization can talk him out of deep conviction.

The answer starts at 16:46.

IR

Ian Rountree

General Partner · Cantos

Evaluating the Team

Ian Rountree says evaluating the team is what most improved his investment decision-making; he looks at the team page, backgrounds, and mutual friends to get a feel for the person rather than the business idea.

The answer starts at 22:03.

Brian Singerman

Partner · Founders Fund

Meeting All Founders

Brian Singerman says it was critical for him to meet all the founders, not just the CEO, because he judged the holistic strength of the founding team.

Guy Katsovich

Co-Founder & Partner · Fusion Vc

Being Doubtful

Guy Katsovich says he always tries to be as doubtful as he can, asking himself whether a deal could work this time even if it failed before, rather than just saying no.

JW

Jade Wang

Venture Partner · Antler

Spreadsheet Modeling

Jade Wang says she built a spreadsheet model because she had difficulty accessing her own intuition, describing it as an assistive device for when she can't feel a thing in the moment.

Yuval Ariav

Managing Partner · Symbol

Depth

Yuval Ariav says depth is the one overarching theme for his team, because they've found it is very correlated with other skills of success, including hiring, strategy, planning and accountability.

David Weisburd

Founder · Weisburd Capital

Listening

David Weisburd says listening is his answer, calling understanding people the most important part of investing. He says investment decisions aren't purely rational—behind them are people with their own motivations—so listening reveals what drives them.