At my investment firm, we look for “Stephs” — as in NBA player Steph Curry for the Golden State Warriors. Why? He’s the underdog that no one expected to be great. As the skinny, baby-faced son of Dell Curry, every major Division 1 school in his home state of North Carolina passed on him.
We’ve heard his story before. Michael Jordan, for example, was cut from his high school varsity basketball team. Their stories prove that confidence, resiliency, overcoming obstacles, determination, grit, perseverance, drive, rising to the occasion, relentlessness and belief in the impossible are all characteristics of greatness. And this doesn’t just apply to great athletes — it also includes great men and women in history that have made a fundamental impact on the world in some way, shape or form. Here’s what you need to know when searching for the greats.
Always Bet on the Leader
Inherent within these individuals seems to be the ability to transform failure into an unstoppable force, which ultimately drives their inevitable success. They use failure to strengthen, resolve and improve future performance.
When it comes to early-stage investing, you’re betting a lot on people, but the most important bet is often on the leader. The traits listed above are almost always sought after in the entrepreneurs that get funded. As such, a key skill set for any early-stage investor is having the ability to detect people’s early signals in order to identify these types of leaders before anyone else. In many cases, it may not even matter what they’re working on.
What early markers help identify these leaders as eventual forces of nature? When do the markers appear? How can we detect them? And when is the most opportune time to bet on them? After all, who could have predicted Steph Curry would become the NBA MVP when he was a straggly college student at Davidson?
Get Your Timing Right
For most people, Steph’s story would…