Fred Wilson

Principles are our summary of their public statements.

• Avoid Artificial Scarcity

  Strategy

  Limiting content and access through exclusive deals can alienate a community built on openness and abundance.

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Lame, 2006  (opens in a new tab)

• Prioritize Web Over Downloads

  Product

  A founder should consider if their product can exist entirely within the browser to reduce friction, rather than forcing users to install new software.

  Supporting quotes

  • “What I need is a player that is not owned by a company that intends to execute its business model on me with it.”

• Focus on Industry Pain Points

  Marketing

  Identify universal problems like data integration and solve them for a specific industry to achieve faster market penetration.

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

  Source Data Integratio, 2004  (opens in a new tab)

• Avoid Intrusive Features

  Strategy

  Forcing users to use secondary products can destroy the long-term relationship with the primary product.

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Goodbye Aim And, 2005  (opens in a new tab)

• Invest in low cost high goodwill

  Marketing

  Small technical investments that solve a customer pain point can generate significant brand loyalty and community appreciation.

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

  Source Danny Give Us A, 2006  (opens in a new tab)

• Maintain Information Manageability

  Productivity

  Regularly pruning incoming streams of information or content is necessary to prevent overwhelm and keep the quality high.

  Supporting quotes

  • “The result is I have a playlist that has songs I like but is changing all the time. It's being programmed by people out on the Internet that I don't even know.”

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

• Observe Natural Adoption

  Customers

  Watch how early adopters, like teenagers, naturally gravitate toward products for their own reasons rather than forced advocacy.

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source I Told You So, 2010  (opens in a new tab)

• Build on existing user habits

  Product

  Successful products often take behaviors people are already doing on other platforms and make them significantly easier or more fun through automation and metadata.

  Supporting quotes

  • “I'm bullish on FS, in that it's something that people already do with Twitter and Facebook, and FS just makes it damn easy, by pulling in meta-data of locations, and making it fun.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Leverage existing social graphs

  Strategy

  New social platforms should consider using APIs to enhance or connect with existing networks because users have a limited capacity for joining new services.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source A Couple Foursquare Anecdotes, 2009  (opens in a new tab)

• Choose Depth or Volume

  Strategy

  One cannot effectively manage a high volume of projects while being deeply involved in each; success requires choosing one model and sticking to it.

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

  Source Vc Clich Of The 1 8, 2006  (opens in a new tab)

• Tap Into Existing Movements

  Marketing

  Build a marketplace or community by serving an existing cultural movement or ethos.

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Etsy In Ny Time, 2007  (opens in a new tab)

• Embrace Participatory Value Creation

  Product

  Modern value is created when the recipient of a product or text becomes a partial or whole author of it through their actions.

  Supporting quotes

  • “We've moved into a new phase of society. One that emphasizes participation in culture and society and and technology and politics. If it weren't such a mouthful, I'd suggest we call it participatism.”

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

• Earn the right to scale

  Negotiation

  Investors should build their ownership over time by supporting the entrepreneur's capital needs early and often, rather than demanding it all upfront.

  Supporting quotes

  • “We often start our investments off with 10% or less and build our ownerships over time.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Crowdsource Solutions from Users

  Learning

  When facing technical hurdles, engaging with a community or customer base can provide specific hardware recommendations and insights.

  Supporting quotes

  • “I've tried everything to make these things work reliably. And I can't get them to pair reliably and stay paired.”

    “I feel like an idiot with a bluetooth headphone in one ear and my phone held up to the other ear and it happens to me all the time.”

• Hire for trajectory not just history

  Hiring

  Identify top talent by projecting their future upside based on their current strengths and growth path before they become famous.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source The War For Talent, 2011  (opens in a new tab)

• Prioritize High Gross Margins

  Strategy

  Focus on businesses with high gross margins because they provide more resources to fund growth without external financing.

  Supporting quotes

  • “I prefer to invest in high gross margin businesses because they have a lot of money left after making a sale to pay for the other costs of the business”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Identify the Scarcity

  Strategy

  Business owners must identify what resources are truly scarce in their market to understand how value will be allocated.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Some Serious Freeconomics, 2009  (opens in a new tab)

• Acknowledge the true value creators

  Leadership

  Investors and supporters should remember that the entrepreneurs running the companies are the ones actually building the business and creating jobs.

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

  Source Usvcomjobs, 2011  (opens in a new tab)

• Transparency in Metadata Ownership

  Integrity

  Companies must clearly define who owns the metadata and tags created by users and the community within a system.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Who Owns Your F, 2007  (opens in a new tab)

• Identify unsustainable market conditions

  Strategy

  When a company's valuation is low, its operations are messy, and talent is leaving, a major structural change or acquisition is inevitable.

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source You Had To See, 2008  (opens in a new tab)