Never Compromise

Over the years many people have asked the same question, “What do you look for in the people you invest in”?  I have given that a lot of thought as it is important to understand your own instincts.  Those instincts include a love for risk-taking and being involved in building things.

Years ago I had a steel Lego block made for Fred that is engraved with the words “because we love to build”.  Why?  It comes down to never compromising.  Always striving to push for more.

Perhaps that is innate or perhaps it is nurture but neither of us has ever settled for what the world gave us.  We have passed that down to our children.  Think differently, don’t compromise, challenge yourself, don’t just accept things for what they are.  Go out into the world and make it yours.

That is how we have lived our lives and that is the founders I am drawn to.  There is something exhilarating about people who don’t just accept the life that they were given.  I have used the word survivors to describe the founders I have invested in but it is more than that, it is people who never compromise for the status quo.  They believe that nothing is standard and they go about setting their own rules.

That thought process is intellectually challenging.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t but you always move forward with another layer of experience that makes you see the world differently at each step.  Never compromise is a motto that challenges me daily, and it works.