#60 - Trials in Transparency
£400m Series D, brushed under the carpet, and a very british condition
How transparent is too transparent?
It’s a tricky line to toe.
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£400m Series D
Transparency isn’t natural. Look at social media and all you see is how great everything is. It’s rare to see what’s not going so well.
This is especially true of startups. In my Linkedin newsfeed every startup in the country has just raised a £400m Series D.
When failures are talked about it’s after the fact. I wrote a Linkedin article called “10 ways I fucked up fundraising”. I posted it after completing a funding round. Hardly brave.
Alas, there is a good reason for it. Vulnerability is not so enticing for investors. They don’t invest in it. They invest in FOMO. An admission that the rest of your pipeline has collapsed really kills a conversation.
Brushed Under the Carpet
Vulnerability becomes harder as a company grows. When you’re two around a table it’s easy to read the room. As the audience you’re speaking to grows, this gets more complicated.
But as you grow vulnerability becomes more important than ever. It’s bravado that leads to issues. If a leader brushes a problem under the carpet then that sends a message: We don’t need to worry about that. That usual ends in tears.
Transparency feels dangerous because more people are listening. More lenses are interpreting what you’re saying. But that’s another great reason to stay honest. It keeps it simple. If you’re baring all then there’s little to trip you up. But not all transparency is made equal.
A Very British Condition
I suffer from the very British condition of self-deprecation. It may be, at times, endearing. But it can also shine unflattering light on proceedings. “The truth” is so often subjective. The angle you view it from makes all the difference.
Ben was horrified at my first draft of our last investor update. There is a time for self-depreciation but that, apparently, is not it. I chose an unflattering angle. Fortunately, he salvaged it.
There we are. No particular conclusions from the above. Just some general ramblings. I’ll keep toying with transparency. I could certainly be braver with it. What’s the worst that could happen? And anyway, no one cares.
My Week in Books📚
Power Play by Tim Higgins
The Tesla story. What a story it is. Musk at his best and worst. The guy is a genius. It’ll be fascinating to see what happens next.
I’ll be updating the books I’ve read this year here. Any recommendations? Let me know!
A Final Thought 💡
"Truth never damages a cause that is just."
- Mahatma Gandhi