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I really appreciate how this is an inversion of the "time-honored tradition" of making founders do loads of extra work within arbitrary deadlines in addition to

I really appreciate how this is an inversion of the "time-honored tradition" of making founders do loads of extra work within arbitrary deadlines in addition to growing their company. Too often, this is more a one-sided scramble (resembling an "audience with the king") than a mutually respectful conversation. It's really promising to see that you value the time of the founders you fund so much that you are ready to talk to them in a way that suits them, not just you. I like this.

tylertringas 6y ago
Thanks! The gate-keeping / "kiss the ring" approach to raising money has got to go.
- gumby 6y ago
  Investors need companies but often don’t act like it. I go to LP meetings from time to time and it’s fun to see the inversion.
  - tylertringas 6y ago
    Agreed. But also, the way raise money for Earnest is very similar to Trailhead: https://twitter.com/tylertringas/status/1260972763285774337?s=20 https://twitter.com/tylertringas/status/1260972763285774337?... Build a relationship and have a discussion over time is so much better for all parties vs "pitch me right now and I'll decide instantly"
  - scopendo 6y ago
    Reminds me of the way many landlords seem to treat their tenants.
    - edoceo 6y ago
      Tenants much easier to replace than finding a good company to invest in.
      - spurdoman77 6y ago
        There are maybe millions of companies in line looking for funding, and they all say that they are good.
        koolhead17 6y ago
        But will it fit traditional VC model? :)
earnesttruth 6y ago
I don’t get why you like it. You’re saying that a setting up a system where founders share confidential information (monthly!) with an investor who has zero timeline for providing any kind of feedback, let alone an investment decision, is a good thing? Who benefits from that exactly?
- guptaneil 6y ago
  If you want a tight timeline, you can still use the traditional application form? I agree that's super valuable if you're in fundraising mode. However, their target market is bootstrappers, who are probably not actively fundraising. For example, I'm not fundraising, but I have no problem replying to emails about how things are going. If Earnest finds the progress interesting, maybe we can talk about a partnership. If not, I probably didn't spend much time on it. (This is assuming the Trailhead updates are quick to answer, that remains to be seen.) The model actually sounds somewhat similar to Pioneer, which also involves continuously providing data without a promised timeline. Venture capital is a product, and almost no product can cover all use cases. Experiments like this enable VC's to cater to different types of founders.
  - rocauc 6y ago
    +1 to Pioneer's model

tylertringas 6y ago

Thanks! The gate-keeping / "kiss the ring" approach to raising money has got to go.

gumby 6y ago
Investors need companies but often don’t act like it. I go to LP meetings from time to time and it’s fun to see the inversion.
- tylertringas 6y ago
  Agreed. But also, the way raise money for Earnest is very similar to Trailhead: https://twitter.com/tylertringas/status/1260972763285774337?s=20 https://twitter.com/tylertringas/status/1260972763285774337?... Build a relationship and have a discussion over time is so much better for all parties vs "pitch me right now and I'll decide instantly"
- scopendo 6y ago
  Reminds me of the way many landlords seem to treat their tenants.
  - edoceo 6y ago
    Tenants much easier to replace than finding a good company to invest in.
    - spurdoman77 6y ago
      There are maybe millions of companies in line looking for funding, and they all say that they are good.
      - koolhead17 6y ago
        But will it fit traditional VC model? :)

earnesttruth 6y ago

I don’t get why you like it. You’re saying that a setting up a system where founders share confidential information (monthly!) with an investor who has zero timeline for providing any kind of feedback, let alone an investment decision, is a good thing? Who benefits from that exactly?

guptaneil 6y ago
If you want a tight timeline, you can still use the traditional application form? I agree that's super valuable if you're in fundraising mode. However, their target market is bootstrappers, who are probably not actively fundraising. For example, I'm not fundraising, but I have no problem replying to emails about how things are going. If Earnest finds the progress interesting, maybe we can talk about a partnership. If not, I probably didn't spend much time on it. (This is assuming the Trailhead updates are quick to answer, that remains to be seen.) The model actually sounds somewhat similar to Pioneer, which also involves continuously providing data without a promised timeline. Venture capital is a product, and almost no product can cover all use cases. Experiments like this enable VC's to cater to different types of founders.
- rocauc 6y ago
  +1 to Pioneer's model