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Trust But Verify: The Importance of Reference Checking

The Seraf Compass

There is an old proverb that was adopted by Ronald Reagan during the later part of the Cold War and which became a signature phrase of Reagan’s in the mid-1980s. When talking about the Cold War adversaries, Reagan always liked to say we should “Trust, but Verify.”

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The Audacious Plan to Make Electricity as Easy as WiFi

Both Sides of the Table

With Meredith I did every on-reference-sheet call I could make and many off-reference-list calls. I followed my playbook on reference calls making sure to ask both positively worded as well as skeptical questions.

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In 15 Years From Now Half of US Universities May Be in Bankruptcy. My Surprise Discussion with @ClayChristensen

Both Sides of the Table

Back to Mr. Christensen, “We subsidize their education in fields for which there are no jobs” he said in referring to the fact that many courses at universities are still taught with skills that aren’t relevant to the 21st century needs of the US workforce. The numerator (return) encourages more sales, which is fine.

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Why you should never have a data room — the most counter-intuitive fund-raising advice you’ll ever…

Both Sides of the Table

Your historical trading information including financials and a “customer file” which shows the history of your transactions so that investors can run “cohort” analyses Customer reference, personal references, key team members, compensation, cap table, stock option plan, etc. Reference Calls I do the exact same for reference calls.

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How to Build a Successful Partnership in Work and Life

Entrepreneurs' Organization

Jamie and I adopted CliftonStrengths and refer to it often in our communication, both at home and at work. Having an external tool to refer to has also helped us reduce misunderstandings and focus on one another’s strengths and recognize when we need to step in and support one another in business and in life.

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What I Would Look for When Choosing a VC – Knowing What I Know Now?

Both Sides of the Table

If I were looking at which VCs to choose I would reference strongly for which ones are supportive in good times and bad. The best way – of course – is to reference check. Here’s how you reference check a VC (link to post with longer version). Startups are hard. And so is venture capital.

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A Seriously Great Story and Why We Funded Them

Both Sides of the Table

Andrew & Petri posed a question to me, “If Walt Disney were starting his company today, what kind of company would he build?

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