Investing in the Person

𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞

Everyone knows someone like this: clearly talented, obviously going places, but still figuring out exactly how. You might not know when their moment comes, but you know it will.

Most investors wait for the perfect company at the perfect time. We often start with the perfect person - even if their current venture isn't the one that makes it big.

This week, I'm examining a different approach: backing individuals before their breakout moment arrives. It's about getting long-term exposure to talent that compounds over time, across multiple ventures and opportunities.

𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

Some founders you meet once and immediately think: "I want to be in business with this person, whatever they're building." This founder was exactly that.

The signals are unmistakable: built things before through side projects and community work, top performer with accelerating career trajectory, created opportunities from limited resources, and managed adversity with consistent resilience. She's a clear thinker, fast learner, ambitious but grounded.

This isn't equity in a company - it's alignment with the individual. She owns 70% of her current company. We get exposure to 7% of that ownership through a 10% share of her personal upside. If that company sells, we share in her outcome. If she builds another company, earns equity elsewhere, or creates other income above a set level, we benefit from that too.

She’s raising a small personal round to extend her runway and hire key teammates. It's time-limited - typically 5 to 15 years, with investor rights expiring if nothing materializes. She keeps ownership and control but shares a small slice of her upside with people who believed in her early. This isn't a donation - it's strategic positioning for long-term exposure to someone we believe in.

Talent investing is probabilistic - this person will likely create meaningful value over the next decade, and staying in the game is how great outcomes get created.

𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫

𝐐: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠?

This model works when you believe in people, not just products. Look for talent plus trajectory - someone with clear capability and obvious momentum, even if their current path isn't perfectly defined.

The combination that matters: grit plus growth mindset, clear goals plus openness to guidance. These people figure things out. They adapt when markets change. They create value across multiple contexts over long time horizons.

The beauty of this structure is alignment without control. Founders aren't giving up equity in their current company or future decision-making power. Investors aren't betting on a single binary outcome. Instead, both sides are aligned on the founder's long-term success across whatever opportunities emerge.

Traditional company investing requires betting on specific market timing and execution. Talent investing requires betting on someone's ability to navigate uncertainty and create value over 10-15 years, regardless of how markets or industries evolve.

𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐫

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𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬

The best investments aren't in companies or markets - they're in people who consistently create value regardless of changing conditions. Exceptional people often create multiple exceptional outcomes over their careers.

Traditional investing bets on companies. Talent investing bets on capability. Companies can fail. Capability compounds.

The ledger entry is clear: bet on people who are clearly going somewhere, even if you can't predict exactly where they'll end up.

Auditing more talent next week,
Will Stringer

𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤

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