Why business should be personal

If you do anything in life for 10+ years, you’re guaranteed to face tragedy or hardship at some point in that period.

That’s just the nature of life.

At the same time, if you’re a VC or Angel writing a check to a startup founder, you’re making a 5-10+ year commitment to that founder, their journey, and their company.

So what’s the responsibility of an investor when one of their founders is going through personal or professional hardship?

My answer has always been: Whatever they need.

No matter the circumstance, I try to offer that founder support. I try to be patient and as empathetic as I can be.

Because, at the end of the day, we’re all people.

Almost any business relationship, investor or otherwise, is a multi-year commitment. There are going to be weddings, divorces, deaths, babies, celebrations, and failures.

Business isn’t transactional at all. It’s personal not despite our humanity, but because of it.

Check in on the people you work with. It’ll mean more to them than you know.