Three Things - 1) Coming fallout from too much venture investing 2) Rihanna and your capital raise 3) A great show of determination

Three Things I Learned In Saas, Sports, Tech and Live Events: 1. There's a record amount of capital in startups. Means there's going to be a record number of failures too and, thought expected by investors, there is collateral damage to many lives. It's easy to try and keep up with the Joneses when competing for talent or sponsorships or the like with your fresh new funding. We've quoted "when racing east looking for a sunset, the first to turn around wins" here before. Make sure you're not joining the race east. It's got a record number of participants and things change cycle by cycle. All markets get wonky both ways- up and down. Have patience and prudence. Never lower your talent bar. Don't buy business which will hurt you later and ruin your price integrity/ability to have the best experience/offering. Don't overpay for a trendy vendor. There will be more failures than ever, and not that many more winners. Remember: Innovators, imitators and idiots. We're at the idiot stage of tech start-ups (and funds). Find the innovators - and be an innovator. 2. "Was it really necessary to tell her that if you spend money on things you will end up with the things and not the money." - Rihanna's advisor when sued. Yes. It was necessary. Once money is raised, it is to be invested in "things" which return more money. In "The Psychology of Money", House explores why most everyone, once they come into money, seemingly all-of-the-sudden change their fiscal prudence. A terrific understanding of one of the reasons start ups piss away funding and run out of money too fast. We're wired to do it. Take note and act accordingly. 3. "You don’t have to make a great show of determination if you’re really determined, you just have to be who you are." Peggy Noonan WSJ. What terrific advice for us all. Especially in new jobs, partnerships, and relationships. The most important goal of any interview isn't job aptitude. It is understanding who we really are behind the show being put on. If determined, it'll be impossible to hide. Had a candidate a few weeks back who'd been bouncing around gigs. We were concerned they weren't being authentic with us when telling us we were the outliers - the ones they'd stay with- and telling elaborate tales of each previous move. We were the only ones he was talking to - or so that was his story. So we waited two weeks and made a few reference calls. Truth came forward. He took another job. Always does. Bullet dodged.