"A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle." - James Keller
In the past three months, I got 20+ friends to sign up for Kondo and Wispr Flow each - didn’t get paid a dime for it.
My killer engineer friend Silas texted me "Yo, I'm on the market." Four days later, he had a dream job.
My friend Charlie (one of the most impressive, driven people I’ve ever met) started a new company, and I intro'd him to 22 investors. He went on to raise $3M in 3 weeks. I took no finder’s fee (but he surprised me with equity for the help!)
Here’s the thing: when I find a great deal, I can't help myself - I have to share it. Business or not. I reckon myself as a hawk, constantly scanning the landscape from above. When I spot something good, I swoop in - then I share it. Like when…
- My roommates and I spotted a 4,600 sqft house on Zillow in Haight-Ashbury. Toured it, fell in love, and signed on the spot. But it was wayyy out of budget as a four-bed. So we called two more friends, built a wall in the attic, and turned it into a six-bed. Now we regularly host coffee clubs, dinners, and concerts.
- Or when I learned the Goodwill in Japantown had quality slacks (rich Pac Heights people donate there), I told everyone. Now we all rock Brooks Brothers for $7.
- Or when my friend Johnny figured out how to hire killer SDRs for only 10% commission, I told every startup operator I know. They've gotten eight new customers in two months.
- Etc, etc. you get the idea.
I love formal deals too - like the ones I close at Origami. The awesome thing about sales is if your product is great, then you are getting paid to help people.
Zooming out, I've realized there are incredible things in this world that most people just don't know about (yet). Alpha exists, but it's not evenly distributed. And let me tell you something: there's nothing better than finding that alpha + sharing it with your people, and seeing them thrive a bit more because of it.
So when I say all my dawgs eat, I mean it.
- L
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