1/I’ve got something I HAVE to say:

If you want to attract money, and you don’t have money, you have to BE money.

2/I’m noticing so many aspiring entrepreneurs I’m meeting are asking me for advice or to be their mentor, but when I ask them about certain basic references that in their lane, they’re not familiar. You have to be on a RELENTLESS pursuit of data and knowledge.

3/You HAVE to know as much or MORE about the thing you want money for than a potential customer or investor does. What’s my secret sauce? I didn’t raise or earn a dime until well after I’d studied the chess board for years and could answer many of the questions I was asked.

4/You never know when outside help is going to come along, so you have to stack the deck in your favor constantly and consistently.

So before you seek out a mentor or capital, study. DEVOUR information. Books/Youtube: know the archives. Podcasts/Mags: stay up on current events.

5/Know your competition. Respect your competition. Don’t ever tell someone (or yourself) “I have no competition”. Impossible.

If you’re not a great reader, get a library membership & audio versions of several books are free. Get an Audible account if you can.

GOOGLE SHIT.

6/When I was teaching myself about Venture Capital, I had a white board and a blow up bed. I bought blank index cards and taught myself about people in the field. Marc Andreessen, Brad Feld, Aaron Levie. They were on my flash cards...today they’re my investors!

7/I read every day. I listen to as many podcasts and @audible_com books as I can. I study, I envision, I execute, I rinse & repeat. Never stop learning and working on your craft. Never get complacent. Never ask for more from someone else than you’re willing to do yourself. EVER.

8/Last thing...

When Beyonce says “let’s get in formation,” she’s also saying “let’s get information.”

Ok, I gotta catch this flight

Bc I was poor.