Smash Notes

Back to #2 — Mike Maples, with Mike Maples.

What Are Mike’s Favorite Things About Being a Seed Investor

He says that when you get it right, you get to see these companies come out of nowhere and make a huge difference. He feels fortunate to get to work with startups, and that it’s fun to be more of a co-conspirator than an investor.

Transcript

#2 — Mike Maples ·

Below the Line with James Beshara

More from this episode

  1. Who Is Mike Maples, Jr.He’s known to be the first investor in Twitter, and an investor in other game changing companies.
  2. What Is Something That Mike Learned as a ParentWhat helped him was realizing that when you have kids, they owe you nothing. They didn’t decide to have you, but rather, you chose to have them.
  3. For Mike, What’s One Big Takeaway About Life That He’s Learned From His ParentsHis parents used to tell him that you have what you have. Every day is a gift, and having the gift of being alive is a limited privilege.
  4. What’s a More Scalable Approach to Make an ImpactIt works better to get real than to get focused. Do less, but better. Think small and increment yourself there.
  5. What Is Mike's Opinion of Decision MakingDecisions are more like a product. A product should have a ship date and a quality level with a timed value of decisions.
  6. What Is Something That Mike Learned as a StudentThat you have a bunch of free moves and they’re perishable.
  7. What Should You Do When You Have an Opportunity to Meet a Person You’ve Been Wanting to MeetYou should ask a set of questions that tease out secrets, rather than the common questions.
  8. What Can Hurt Your Deal Flow Over TimeMike says that deal flow, ultimately, becomes your enemy because you tend to focus so much on the flow and reacting to what’s going on.
  9. Why Do the Odds Seem Stacked Against a Person as They’re OlderMike thinks that once you turn 50, the odds are against you. At this age, your peer group is no longer at the edge.
  10. Why Does Mike Maples Say Free Markets Work?On Below the Line with James Beshara, Mike Maples says free markets work because they allocate capital and resources dynamically and correctly, without a…
  11. How Is Wealth Inequality Visible TodayBy the lack of soundness for money.
  12. How Much of an Increase Has the Standard of Living Gone Up Since 1850The standard of living of humanity has went up fourteen fold from 1850 to 2000.
  13. Are Robots Really Going to Eat Our Jobs Like Some BelieveMike believes no, they won’t eat our jobs as much as they’ll eat the need for people to join companies.
  14. What Are Scissor StatementsThey are statements generated to inflict controversy and manifest it.
  15. How Can Scissor Statements Help UsThere is value to know that scissor statements are out there. These statements cause us to pause and realize that they are planted to divide us.

People

Featured in: Startup Fundraising: Raise, Bootstrap, or Both? Lessons from Founders and Investors

More answers like this

More with Mike Maples

More with James Beshara

Related episodes

Plays from this note through the rest of the episode.

Note

Weekly highlights

One letter a week.

The notes worth hearing, with the minute they were said.