Why Business Leaders Should Think Like Venture Capitalists

The book, The Venture Mindset, is all about how to make smarter bets and achieve extraordinary growth. The authors, Ilya Strebulaev and Alex Dang, explain that if any company wants to win big in competitive times, they need to think differently. They need to think like a venture capitalist (VC).

“This book teaches you to spot new opportunities, nurture the right talent, foster a culture of innovation, and take calculated risks,” say Strebulaev and Dang.

In their book, the authors share nine distinct principles inspired by the unique way VC’s think:

Home Runs Matter, Strikeouts Don’t
Get Outside the Four Walls
Prepare Your Mind
Say No 100 Times
Bet on the Jockey
Agree to Disagree
Double Down or Quit
Make the Pie Bigger
Great Things Take Time

These nine principles drive VC’s unique behaviors that have flourished in an ecosystem of thousands of startups, some of which went on to disrupt or create entirely new industries, according to the authors.

They add that “some of the lessons offered by the Venture Mindset are easy to implement, with immediate results; others are less so. But each lesson offers a powerful opportunity to change how you think and act within your own organization.”

As you read the book, you will find a Mindset Check at the end of each chapter. Use these to answer questions about your organization and think about what you may need to do differently to achieve a Venture Mindset.

Some of the questions include:
Is your organization positioned for making many small bets with the understanding that many of those will fail?
How open are your culture and organization to unexpected ideas coming from outsiders?
Do you regularly interact directly with entrepreneurs, executives, and experts to deepen your insights on developments in your industry?
Are your meetings designed to promote debate and open to disagreements?

Some of my favorite takeaways from among the nine principles include:

Pick your battleground.
Don’t get too skeptical too early.
Reward boldness.
Look beyond short-term gains.
Ignore temporary swings.

The authors share these additional insights with us:

Question: Of the nine Venture Mindset principles, which one is typically the most challenging for a business leader and his/her organization to master, and why?

Dang & Strebulaev: We work a lot with large organizations, and the single principle that is hardest to integrate into strategic decision-making is the idea that home runs matter and strikeouts don't.

The risk of failure is often exaggerated, and established organizations easily ignore missed opportunities until the next Google or Amazon gets big enough to disrupt their business.

Too often, everything inside a large and established organization is designed against launching new, risky ventures, with senior executives avoiding them as minefields. This is what makes Silicon Valley tech companies so unique — they continue to invent, experiment, take risks, and serve as innovation factories. More importantly, every Fortune 500 company can do the same. However, this requires a mindset change.

Question: Are the nine principles to be learned sequentially?

Dang & Strebulaev: No, each principle itself significantly improves the ability of a decision-maker to find and fund innovative ideas. It's not all about luck; there is a method to the madness.

Everyone and every organization can improve by dialing up the risk-tolerance level but in a smart way. However, mastering all of the Venture Mindset principles is important.

Without a large funnel of ideas, the effort is futile. Without killing your darlings (or less successful ventures), the organization would spread itself too thin. Without long-term commitment, you may give up too early.

So, to truly benefit from the Venture Mindset, adopting all nine principles is important. However, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. To rephrase one VCs. When is the best time to start? It was yesterday!

Question: How long does it take for a business leader and his/her organization to master the nine principles and fully transform their entity to one operating with the Venture Mindset?

Dang & Strebulaev: We've seen how leaders change their behavior right after learning about some of the principles. For example, the principle of getting outside of the four walls can be immediately implemented, allowing leaders to discover many new ideas right away. However, seeing the benefits of the prepared mind principle takes more time. We've noticed that both of us have also significantly changed our behaviors. We experiment more and test our ideas rather than debating endlessly about who is right.

Transforming an organization to become venture-minded takes time. It may take 2-3 years to make it a part of the DNA of the organization. The challenge? It's not just about the leaders; it's about the leadership team and key employees who often participate in our workshops and become a team of intrapreneurs, initiating the venture mindset movement.

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

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