Founder, Investor, Designer
- CEO Italic
- Founder (FountainS15)YC
- Owner Tonari AnimationNot PotCourtlyCMIICHubble
- 2015 Thiel Fellowship
Investing
- ~120 startups & funds as angel/LP. Any success is solely due to founders/GPs.
- Select direct: RampNotionSecureframeHeroSeries,PatchPykaSlope
- Select LP: VIA IVDragonflyPatronTreble776Ravikant Capital
- Not a pro, I invest for fun. Silent unless called on and no updates expected.
- Early-stage only. Max valuation of $15M, no exceptions. Industry agnostic.
User Manual
Contact
- I am likely on PT or MT. Available most weekends.
- If you don’t know me…
- I read all andTwitterDMs.LinkedIn
- Keep it to the point. No general networking. Read: nohello.net.
- Strongly dislike meetings. Please don’t consider it rude if I suggest async.
- Please don’t call for any reason!
- Use to aggregate & triage DMs andTextsfor all emails.Missive
- My default messaging platform is .Telegram
- Email is my todo list. Please follow up if I do not respond first.
Personal
- I prioritize privacy, career longevity, and family.
- Grew up in Chicago suburbs. Lived in Boston → SF → China → LA.
- Now spend most of the year in Park City with my wife Kati.
- We enjoy skiing, tennis, biking, and fishing.
Work
- I value culture, mission, and money in that order.
- My work is my identity and I do not shy away from this reality.
- Tried a lot of things over >10 yrs. My style is what’s best for me but may not be good for you. I do not mean to suggest that my way is superior.
- Small team of like-minded, kind, driven individuals.
- Built 3 teams to >100 people. Found personal output & enjoyment declines starting after ~10 and drops significantly after ~30 (not universal, but usually).
- Diversity of thought is less important to me than velocity and unity.
- Fewer people → higher accountability & faster execution.
- Allows me to be an IC. Enjoy doing work versus making sure others do.
- Default remote & async with intense in-person sprints.
- Caveat physical product development and ideation needs to happen IRL.
- Attended >10k meetings. Majority have no discernible objective or outcome.
- I’m aware this is not universally endorsed and have accepted this.
Writing
The Modern Workforce
An Honest Year as a Dropout
Why Software Companies Hide Pricing
Fountain Goodbye
Work