Connecting Founders and Paying it Forward

There is no better feeling for me when I connect a successful founder that I’ve backed to new founders in our portfolio. As a non-operator venture capitalist, seeing the knowledge trust being transferred is literally like being in the front row of the super bowl.

I had the opportunity to do this yesterday with Taylor Cavanah of PetDesk and the founders of Datum Source. The conversation was around products and pricing- a subject that I literally can offer no guidance on except for the stereotypical anecdotal advice of “charge more!”

Years ago, we connected Taylor to Heidi Jannenga of WebPT ($150M+ ARR vertical SaaS company), who was in my old firm’s portfolio. Taylor formed a relationship with her and kept her close through his journey. And around it goes.

The pay-it-forward knowledge transfer from founder to founder is incredibly valuable and impactful. It is received so much more differently than board advice which is colder and more sterile. The more I do this, the more I realize that this is a relationship business and that I need to double down on growing and strengthening my network.