Frederic Court

Founder of @FelixCapital, a venture capital firm for the Creative Class. Focused on backing exceptional founders changing the way we live, consume & work.

[Will Ahmed @willahmed]

You have no experience.
You’ve never started a company.
You’ve never had a full time job.
Nike is going to kill you.
You’re a kid.
You don’t have technical skills.
You shouldn’t build hardware.
Apple is going to kill you.
You can’t build hardware.
You can’t measure heart rate non-invasively.
Athletes don’t care about recovery.
Under Armour is going to kill you.
It won’t be accurate.
You don’t listen.
You’re an ineffective leader.
You can’t recruit great talent.
You’re going to have to pay every athlete.
You can’t measure sleep non-invasively.
It’s too expensive to research.
Athletes are a small market.
The product costs too much to make.
The product costs too much to sell.
Your valuation is too high.
Consumers aren’t going to want it.
Hardware is too hard.
You should measure steps.
Fitbit is going to kill you.
You can’t build a marketing engine.
You can’t raise enough money.
You need a real CEO.
Google is going to kill you.
You can’t be a subscription.
You can’t build a brand.
You can’t do consumer in Boston.
Your valuation is too high.
You shouldn’t make accessories.
You shouldn’t make apparel.
Lululemon is going to kill you.
You can’t predict Covid.
Stay in your niche.
You are going to run out of money.
You can’t build a health platform.
Amazon is going to kill you.
You can’t measure blood pressure.
You can’t get medical approvals.
The market is too small.
You don’t understand AI.
The market is too competitive.
It won’t work internationally.
The supply chain is too complicated.
You can’t build an AI.
You can’t raise enough money.
It’s too competitive.
Healthcare isn’t going to want it.
…

Just keep going ✌️

[Paul Graham @paulg]

Prediction: In the AI age, taste will become even more important. When anyone can make anything, the big differentiator is what you choose to make.

https://t.co/3GQUlfH58t

[Naval @naval]

“Die empty.”

[Daniel Ek @eldsjal]

I’ve always believed that every founder’s story is shaped by the ups and downs along the many stages of the journey and @davidsenra understands that. I’ve been a fan of his work for a long time, so when he invited me to be the first guest on his new podcast, it was an easy yes. We had a conversation earlier this year about creativity, leadership and the evolution of Spotify. David’s one of the most curious people I’ve met and I learned a lot from our time together. Excited to follow along as he builds this next chapter. Congrats, David!

Check it out: https://t.co/ikpvm8w7jI

[Frederic Court @fcourt]

It’s a product race, and a brand-building race. ChatGPT is the first AI consumer brand, building adoption globally by consumers and enterprises ahead of everyone else. With models as commodities, products and brands will drive usage and, ultimately, value.

[Bill Gurley @bgurley]

I actually don’t think there is any sign that “model quality” will be the key factor. If anything, the models all seem super close to one another and there is no data point that would point towards someone “gapping” from here. It’s a product race not a model race.

[Felix Capital @FelixCapital]

Big news from Felix! 💥

We’re excited to welcome Laurent Droin as Investor & Partner at Felix Capital. With 20+ yrs in the consumer industry—across Danone, BNP Paribas, and most recently Eurazeo — Laurent brings deep experience & vision. 🙌

Welcome to the team, Laurent! 🚀

[Frederic Court @fcourt]

@2lr @ManuSeuge Bravo! Sympa de vous voir travailler ensemble et bonne chance à Cassius!

[Frederic Court @fcourt]

@HarryStebbings This is the advice I just gave my daughter for when she thinks of getting her first job. Nothing is easy and the more doors you knock on, the more likely you are to succeed, whether you are looking for funding, customers or a job.

[Frederic Court @fcourt]

@HarryStebbings 100%! best thing that can happen to all of us in my view (and experience).

[Emmanuel Macron @EmmanuelMacron]

Vive la France !

[Frederic Court @fcourt]

@mattturck I hope you charged your WHOOP

[Felix Capital @FelixCapital]

Thank you to @StrictlyVC @TechCrunch @mikebutcher for hosting an insightful and engaging panel event in #London! 🚀 Great conversation with Felix's @fcourt and @LucianaLix of @sequoia on the evolution of startups and venture in #Europe and the outlook ahead 🙌

[David Marcus @davidmarcus]

Thrilled to announce that @Coinbase has selected @Lightspark to enable the #Bitcoin Lightning Network across its platform and services. Yet another significant milestone for Lightning! ⚡to many millions of new people and 100+ countries coming soon! https://t.co/Dj5JDqdmOl

[Forbes Technology Council @ForbesTechCncl]

For E-Commerce, The AI Revolution Is Ahead Of Schedule https://t.co/83So9Ir6rw Written by @AdrienNus of @Mirakl

[Frederic Court @fcourt]

Tom Beahon at @CastoreEngland : Building the Tesla of Sportswear, Why We're Taking on Nike &... https://t.co/Nt3kyuhrEn Great interview by @HarryStebbings cc @FelixCapital

[Reads with Ravi @readswithravi]

Starting my new year with “The Creative Act” by Rick Rubin 🙌🏻

what are you all currently reading?

[Felix Capital @FelixCapital]

We are excited to announce our investment in @CastoreEngland the #Manchester-based sports apparel brand created by former athletes @TBeahon and Phil, in their £145m funding round alongside The Raine Group and @hanacovc ! 💥⚽️🎾🏎️ https://t.co/RqopDruqDQ

[Harley Finkelstein @harleyf]

$4.1 billion.

That’s the total sales of @Shopify merchants on Black Friday. Year over year… our merchants break records. Hats off to all the hard-working entrepreneurs behind these businesses.

[Frederic Court @fcourt]

Join us at @omada_app if you love sports as much as we do at @FelixCapital! Delighted to partner with the team and lead their $7m seed round #sports #genZ

[Felix Capital @FelixCapital]

Felix is going all in! 🏆 Today, we are thrilled to announce our investment in @omada_app , the premier #sports game tailored for #GenZ worldwide, leading their $7.6M #Seed round
https://t.co/HISfm8RERv

[Frederic Court @fcourt]

A great analogy by @eldsjal to see founders as “curators” or “producers”. A great way to empower teams and scale creativity.

[Daniel Ek @eldsjal]

I'm really glad when my team at Spotify proves me wrong, like they did with "Discover Weekly."

People often think founders have everything planned out from the start, but that's at least not true for me. A lot of times, I rely on feedback from our team, customers, and partners. And I change my mind often. My job is a bit of that of a curator or producer - I’m putting together pieces of a puzzle.

When the team first pitched me "Discover Weekly," I wasn't sure about it. I didn't really get why it was special. But the team kept building on it and more and more people internally got excited. When we launched it, I was surprised. Turns out, our users really loved it, and today it's one of the top features on Spotify.

One of the most underrated skills we have in our society is listening. So I’m sending this tweet out in the world as a reminder to myself to work on becoming an ever better listener.