Alongside my work with IGMEP, I invest in early stage companies through OG77 Capital. Venture investing is a humbling discipline. Most of what you think you know about which companies will succeed turns out to be wrong, and the lessons it teaches apply well beyond startups.
Character over pitch
Early in a company's life, there is very little to evaluate. The product is unfinished, the market is uncertain and the numbers are small or nonexistent. What you are really evaluating is the founder: how they think, how they handle setbacks, how honestly they describe their situation.
Over time I have come to weigh integrity and self awareness very heavily. A founder who tells you clearly what is not working, and what they are doing about it, is far more valuable than one who presents a flawless story. Every company hits serious problems. The question is whether the people running it will confront them honestly.
Clarity beats charisma
Charisma is useful for raising money and recruiting, but it can also hide weak thinking. The founders I trust most can explain their business simply: who the customer is, what problem they solve, why now and why them. If an idea cannot be explained clearly, it is often not yet understood clearly.
Risk is not the same as uncertainty
Venture investing involves accepting that most individual bets will not work out. That is not recklessness; it is a portfolio approach to genuine uncertainty. The discipline lies in sizing each commitment appropriately, understanding what could go wrong and being honest about what you do not know.
The same principle applies in any business. Distinguish between risks you can quantify and uncertainties you cannot. Make many small, reversible bets where uncertainty is high, and reserve large, irreversible commitments for situations you understand well.
Patience compounds
Great companies usually take far longer to build than anyone expects. The temptation, for founders and investors alike, is to force growth faster than the business can support, chasing metrics that look good in the short term. Patient builders, who focus on solving real problems for real customers, tend to create more durable value.
This is a lesson I recognize from family business as well. The longest lasting enterprises are built by people thinking in decades.
Relationships are the real portfolio
In venture, as in most of business, relationships are the underlying asset. Founders refer other founders. Investors co invest with people they trust. A reputation for being helpful, fair and honest compounds across every future opportunity.
This is why I try to treat every founder conversation, even when I decline to invest, as the start of a relationship. A respectful, clear no, delivered quickly with honest reasons, is a form of value. Many founders remember who treated them well when they had nothing.
Ethics is a competitive advantage
There is a persistent belief that cutting corners helps companies win. In my experience, the opposite is more often true over any meaningful time horizon. Companies that respect customer data, treat employees fairly and deal honestly with partners build trust that becomes a real moat. Companies that do not eventually pay for it, often at the worst possible moment.
What I look for now
If I had to summarize, I look for founders who are honest about problems, clear about their customer, patient about growth and generous in their relationships. Those qualities do not guarantee success. Nothing does. But they make it far more likely that, whatever happens, the people involved will have built something worth being part of.
Além do IGMEP, invisto em empresas em estágio inicial pela OG77 Capital. Venture capital é uma disciplina que ensina humildade, e suas lições valem além das startups.
Caráter acima do pitch
No início, o que se avalia é o fundador: como pensa, como lida com reveses e com que honestidade descreve sua situação. Clareza vale mais que carisma.
Risco, incerteza e paciência
Faça apostas pequenas e reversíveis onde a incerteza é alta. Grandes empresas levam mais tempo do que se imagina, e os construtores pacientes criam valor mais duradouro.
Relações e ética
Relações são o verdadeiro portfólio. Um não respeitoso e rápido também é valor. E ética é vantagem competitiva em qualquer horizonte relevante.