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Shaan's missed mastermind portfolio: Calm, Clearbit, Product Hunt
Shaan regrets not blindly investing $10K in every founder in his early mastermind groups, which included Calm, Clearbit, Product Hunt, and Zola Electric. The lesson: don't count yourself out as a player.
“if I had just written checks to all of them blindly, I said, you know, like with no judgment, I'm just writing the same $10,000 check and all of you guys, you know, Calm was in that, in that crew.”
Steal thisIf you're already in the room with great founders, be willing to write checks; don't count yourself out as an investor.
Story
The mastermind portfolio Shaan didn't invest in
Shaan realized that the founders at his early SF mastermind dinners — Calm, Clearbit, Product Hunt, Zola Electric — would have been a phenomenal portfolio if he'd blindly written $10K checks to each. He'd done the relationship-building right but didn't yet think of himself as an investor.
“Clearbit was in that crew. Product Hunt, Zola Electric, which is the biggest solar company in Africa. Like, so that portfolio would have done amazing. And so, I looked back and I was like, man, I did the first part right, which is what you're saying. You know, I just spent time with interesting people and added value to them through sharing sharing ideas, insights, whatever, helping, being helpful. But then the lesson I learned was, why wasn't I investing? And to me, I kind of asked myself this and I thought, because I wasn't thinking of myself like an investor.”
Steal thisIf you already sit at the table with great founders, start thinking of yourself as an investor — don't count yourself out.