How to: Build an Investment
Thesis Pedro Torres-Picón Founder, Quotidian Ventures

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp What’s a
thesis? the·sis - /ˈTHēsis/ noun a statement or theory that is put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp What do
you invest in?

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp What type
of investor are you? Opportunistic vs Sector/Trend Focused vs Thesis Driven

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp Opportunistic Sector/Trend
Focused Thesis Driven What type of investor are you?

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp What’s your
thesis? Ask yourself two questions...

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp Q1: What
do you invest in? “In investing, you want to stick to the things that you’re best suited to do, where you’re the very best firm possible.” - Ben Horowitz, A16Z

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp Q2: What
do you believe? “What do you strongly believe that very few people agree with you on?” - Peter Thiel, Founders Fund

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp Quotidian invests
in... Companies transforming large, old-school industries with software.

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp … and
we believe Founder/Market Fit is the most important quality to look for in founders in this space.

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp Why have
a thesis?

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp “Regardless of
whether you are Dave McClure or Union Square Ventures, you need an investment thesis and you need to stick to it. And I believe that you need to make it public, articulate it well, and make sure everyone, particularly your target entrepreneurs, know what it is and why.” - Fred Wilson, Union Square Ventures

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp Why have
a thesis? Reason #1: Your thesis is your marketing strategy

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp Why have
a thesis? Reason #2: Focus and discipline make you a better investor

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp Why have
a thesis? Reason #3: Your domain expertise will add value to your companies

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp Why have
a thesis? Reason #4: You will build a network of like- minded people

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp OK, I
have a thesis Now what?

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp You should
stick to it ”Once you have a thesis, you need to stick to it. There are all kinds of temptations that come along to invest outside of the core investment thesis. You have to resist them. Discipline is about sticking to what you know and what you believe in totally and completely.” - Fred Wilson, Union Square Ventures

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp But know
when to evolve it ”Strong opinions, weakly held.” - Paul Saffo, Institute for the Future

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp And have
an Anti-Thesis! One thing I learned from a smart VC friend who does thesis driven investing: if you have a thesis, you also need to have an anti-thesis. It's a good discipline to make sure you are really taking a position and not just adopting a theme. - Chris Dixon, A16Z

Pedro Torres-Picón @pedrotp Further reading...
Fred Wilson’s Blog - avc.com Brad Feld’s Blog - feld.com Dave’s Moneyball Thesis: bit.ly/davesthesis

THAT’S ALL! Email me: p@quotidian.co
Follow me: @pedrotp