What's the best way to learn about venture capital? How can we transform venture capital? This starts with the basics and then keeps progressing to ideas about how we can transform venture capital.

1. The Do’s & Don’ts
of Venture Investing
Tytus Michalski

2. Global venture capital & innovation agency
3 Managing Partners, 8 Team Members, 26 Impact Partners
50 portfolio companies, US$1.5B market value, 600+ co-investors
FRESCO TEAM
FRESCO IMPACT PARTNER
FRESCO PORTFOLIO

3. What’s the best way
to learn the do’s and don’ts
of venture investing?

4. Memorizing all the
correct answers like our
traditional education system?

5. Unlikely.
Not being right more often.
Mostly wrong and RIGHT BIG.

6. Are credentials (MBA, CFA)
the key to learning
all about venture investing?

7. Not really.
Credentials create signals.
Only tangentially related.

8. Is artificial intelligence
the ultimate solution
to venture investing?

9. Not yet.
Small data set of success.
Open ended problem(s).

10. Venture investing is a mystery.
Fortunately, some clues
can guide us.
The Mystery

11. Clue #1
Venture investing
requires practical experience,
not just theory.

12. Clue #1
Learning
by doing.

13. Clue #2
Venture investing
requires creativity to find
true innovation.

14. Clue #2
The arts.

15. Clue #3
Venture investing
requires discipline to create
enduring success over time.

16. Clue #3
Martial arts.

17. To learn the do’s and don’ts
of venture investing
use martial arts.

18. White Belt
Build the basics.

19. “The hardest part
is showing up.”
– Sensei Alan Lai

20. Don’t:
think you can get quality
without time and effort.
White Belt Venture

21. Do:
say “No” to 99+ opportunities
for every 1 investment made.
White Belt Venture

22. “Karate is a
lifetime
marathon.”
– Master Shoshin Nagamine

23. Don’t:
expect a 3 month trade
and low cost liquidity.
White Belt Venture

24. Do:
align time horizon with assets,
3, 5, 10+ years.
White Belt Venture

25. Traditional martial arts
has no tournaments
and no trophies.

26. Don’t:
chase famous startups
and award shows.
White Belt Venture

27. Do:
have a diverse network to find
“underground” opportunities.
White Belt Venture

28. Green Belt
Train your technique.

29. Use superior technique
and speed (acceleration)
instead of brute force.

30. Don’t:
waste resources on
brute force due diligence.
Green Belt Venture

31. Do:
learn disciplined, fast and
repeatable due diligence skills.
Green Belt Venture

32. “Kata is zen.
Kata is simple
yet difficult.”
– Hanshi Robert
Scaglione

33. Don’t:
Re-invent term sheets
from scratch.
Green Belt Venture

34. Do:
be clear about trade-offs and
your priorities for terms.
Green Belt Venture

35. The mirror is the most
useful tool in the dojo.

36. Don’t:
become complacent
because startups chase you.
Green Belt Venture

37. Do:
stay open to explicit
and implicit feedback.
Green Belt Venture

38. Brown Belt
Power your impact.

39. Strength starts
from the bottom
and flows upwards.

40. Don’t:
become too top heavy
in management teams.
Brown Belt Venture

41. Do:
proactively support
talent management efforts.
Brown Belt Venture

42. Partner training requires
open communication and trust.

43. Don’t:
be passive or
micromanage teams.
Brown Belt Venture

44. Do:
build trust by being open
and give tough love feedback.
Brown Belt Venture

45. Apply maximum power with
minimum surface area at
the point of
impact.

46. Don’t:
create a smaller version
of a large company.
Brown Belt Venture

47. Do:
identify and focus on
the core metrics.
Brown Belt Venture

48. Black Belt
Enhance awareness.

49. “Step first,
then punch.”
– Master Ansei
Ueshiro

50. Don’t:
sell the winners
too early (or too late).
Black Belt Venture

51. Do:
build a process to evaluate
risk vs. return over time.
Black Belt Venture

52. Empty your mind.

53. Don’t:
let your experience
crowd out your mind.
Black Belt Venture

54. Do:
stay open
to unexpected opportunities.
Black Belt Venture

55. Win
without
fighting.

56. Don’t:
get caught up in
war and sports metaphors.
Black Belt Venture

57. Do:
find trusted partners
who share your values.
Black Belt Venture

58. Sensei
Embrace the paradox.

59. Find your personal style.
Keep the tradition
and be original.

60. Don’t:
simply copy and paste
from other venture investors.
Sensei Venture

61. Do:
co-create new approaches
with trusted partners.
Sensei Venture

62. Traditional martial arts
combines physical with
mental and spiritual training.

63. Don’t:
overlook the indirect financial
and non-financial benefits.
Sensei Venture

64. Do:
challenge assumptions about
traditional venture investing.
Sensei Venture

65. Teach the philosophy and values
to others by training.

66. Don’t:
hide the secrets of
venture investing from others.
Sensei Venture

67. Do:
identify the right partners
and train them to succeed.
Sensei Venture

68. Who Can Learn Martial Arts?
Anyone from age 5 to 95+
has the potential to
train martial arts.

69. Anyone from age 5 to 95+
has the potential to
train venture investing.
Who Can Learn Venture?

70. A black belt
is just
a white belt
who never
gave up.

71. tytus@fresco.vc
@tytusm