The cringe isn't that he failed to maximize yield, it's that he failed to protect that $35m from tail risks, by parking the lion's share of it in T-bills. "Max

The cringe isn't that he failed to maximize yield, it's that he failed to protect that $35m from tail risks, by parking the lion's share of it in T-bills. "Maximizing yield" would mean earning a few % annually in interest. "Minimizing insolvency risk" means paying a few % to ensure it doesn't go to (effectively) zero in an SVB-like situation, and requires literally a day or two of work. However, it's difficult to fault Mitchell for knowing these things. It sounds like the VP of Finance was brought in at the right time (Series B), and did the right things. With what Mitchell knows now, and especially given the industry's recent experience at SVB, I'd guess that he would advise any young founders he works with to cover this base at their own companies even earlier than he did.