Most startups fail, they say. Even though this is common knowledge, it still sucks when it happens. I'm experiencing this myself (again) as I'm closing down Adelee, the company I started in 2019. Failure is an overwhelming emotion. It feels like letting down everyone who believes in you. Investors, family & friends are all losing money and time, employees losing jobs, and the folks who tested apps are all left with... nothing.

Even though this adventure will be added to my long list of failed attempts, it won't discourage me going forward. It's far more thrilling and fulfilling to be the one who might mess up than to be someone who... doesn't. I'm far too grateful I've been given the privilege of being wrong in the first place. I like participating in life.

When investing, I prefer early-stage tech companies where I can help people from day one. More specifically, pre-seed & seed stage. I like this phase cuz it's when most of the magic happens. It's more about creating and less about numbers. Building things with like-minded people to solve problems or needs is a meaningful thing to spend time on.

Hence it's a humbling experience to see founders I've backed raise more funding to continue their journeys. Shoutout to Speedinvest for taking the lead in Drop, kudos to Adriaan for cleaning up the cap table at Formitable, and hooray Blue Farm for closing this round. Significant achievements, especially now the market is all over the place.

If you're a struggling entrepreneur reading this and VCs are being a bitch, find one that isn't or consider alternative routes like Calm Fund. Another option is to extend your runway with a bridge loan. Browse the Operator Exchange to find more angels and keep trying. Here's some musical encouragement courtesy of Jill Scott.