Murli Ravi

Investor, founder & data maven / Ex-Perl coder (and I know that dates me) / Beer geek / Co-founder: / Host of What Doesn't Kill You @tinmencapital

[Murli Ravi @murli184]

As a final benefit, the machine gives you perfect eyesight and a cool haircut

n/n

[Murli Ravi @murli184]

This is how to make perpetual motion machines work for you.

Step 1: found a startup and raise two or three rounds of funding. Make sure your equity is worth something. Nothing unusual here

1/n

[Murli Ravi @murli184]

You soon have a unicorn on your hands but why stop there?

Eventually, your loans become so large that the bank labels you too big to fail. Your investors have long since retired on the money you made for them.

You're welcome.

6/n

[Murli Ravi @murli184]

This

[Patrick Collison @patrickc]

Was chatting with a well-known founder yesterday about the "founder mode" discussion.

We were both wondering if people would misinterpret it, and undervalue the importance of hiring great leaders. Steve Jobs, the canonical example of "founder mode", was also gifted at identifying stellar leaders, without whom no great organization gets built. (And we're lucky to have many at Stripe.)

To the extent that there's an ostensible tension here (founder-mode micromanagement vs the classic view that one should focus on enablement), this founder pointed out that the lens of domain-specific judgment helps reconcile the dichotomy.

• You need to have excellent judgment in your problem area.
• You need to recognize the importance of good judgment as a phenomenon.
• You need to demand it in others.

He argued that many companies and founders fail at (2) and (3). That is, individuals can be effective "people managers", or have strong resumes, or whatever, but just not be deep enough in their domains to be right on the substantive merits of questions within their purview (and unable to recursively detect/insist on that correctness in others, or to elevate and prize it when they see people who do it well).

In this conception of things, leaders in "founder mode" naturally enable others when those others have great judgment in their areas.

Interestingly, this HBR piece describes how Apple differs from the mainstream by doing exactly this: "Its fundamental belief is that those with the most expertise and experience in a domain should have decision rights for that domain. [...] Apple is not a company where general managers oversee managers; rather, it is a company where experts lead experts." https://t.co/KRzcwP8F9r. It's clear from discussions with leaders at SpaceX and Tesla that @elonmusk's companies do this as well.

So, anyway, I wonder if some substantial part of "founder mode" hinges on "building an org around good judgment".

[Many obligatory disclaimers apply to this tweet: no single attribute is enough to make for a good leader, no single framework is fully explanatory, etc., but the margins of this tweet are too small to contain them.]

[Murli Ravi @murli184]

While all of this is of course helpful in your fundraising, it also has the benefit of distilling down the essence of your business.

There's capital out there. Go get it 💪

5/5

[Murli Ravi @murli184]

Fundraising? In these times? Here are the Four Whys you should address in your investor outreach emails.

Relevance is your #1 friend during investor outreach

That doesn't mean handwritten notes personalised to the last detail

1/n

[Murli Ravi @murli184]

3 Why now?
Why is this market attractive? Are you reinventing stuff from years ago? Or are you too early to the scene?

4 Why us?
The only (semi) personalised point. In an age of capital scarcity & email blasts, it helps to touch on why you & your recipient are a good match

4/n

[Murli Ravi @murli184]

@standupmaths @TimHarford This is old news and might not be worth a video or podcast ep but thought this basic Excel error would amuse/horrify you https://t.co/MDKYC7lrRT It had huge huge can't-be-overstated consequences

[Murli Ravi @murli184]

Some days I have to think quite a bit to get the #Wordle. Other days, it's utter dumb luck

Wordle 214 2/6

⬛⬛🟩🟩⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

[Murli Ravi @murli184]

@danealam @MAS @acccgovau @starbizmy In fact, I would be surprised if they did not have insurance coverage for cancellations due to extenuating circumstances. If so, passengers pay AND the insurer pays. I wonder if @agcs_insurance, GIC Re (owned by @FinMinIndia & @indiagovin), @AtriumUw, etc are aware of this

[Murli Ravi @murli184]

@danealam @MAS @acccgovau @starbizmy I read the fare rules on the ticket booking page and took screenshots. Maybe do the same? I didn't see any mention of MAS giving itself the right to cancel flights and then being able to walk away from a full refund. There are penalties aplenty when it is the passenger's fault…

[Murli Ravi @murli184]

@danealam @MAS @acccgovau @starbizmy Hi @danealam, it does seem a strange stance for @MAS to take, right? If you made a 100% advance payment to me to buy something and I said I wouldn't deliver the product to you and also kept your money, you would sue me for theft and fraud

[Murli Ravi @murli184]

@MAS @Brandon40431429 @Brandon40431429 did @MAS actually come through with their promises?

[Murli Ravi @murli184]

@kirankimi @MAS Hi Kiran, it looks like @MAS is treating you as badly as they are treating me