⬆️ Celebrating the Coinbase IPO with Pops

One morning while we were verbally sparring with each other, Pops and I landed on the topic of luck and venture capital. Between bites of eggs and bacon, he said, “Life has a way of presenting you with luck. The people who take it are the people who succeed.”

More than any other Pops quote, this is the line I say to people nearly every day.

What if my grandfather had chosen not to take his first venture capital job? Before going into venture, Pops was working at Inland Steel and living in Indiana. He was a rising star there—on track to become the apex predator in its corporate hierarchy. When his dad called him and asked for help with some weird business in California, he could have said no.

This was a doorway to an opportunity with unknown upside, and instead of acting fearfully, he went for it. The luckiest people just go for it.

When he turned in his resignation, the president of Inland Steel yelled at him for two hours for even thinking this was a good idea. Many other people shared the president’s opinion that Pops was walking away from the best opportunities he would ever get.

As Pops told me this story, he said he remembered thinking: This is the best decision I’ve ever made, because this is the most I’ve ever been yelled at in my life!

He smiled at me, then quickly followed up with: “I want some more maple syrup.”

The topic of luck comes up quite a bit during our conversations. On this particular day the topic had been brought up, I was referring to the luck of picking a great startup.

Early stage venture capital is a unique business—and I do mean unique. It’s difficult to attribute your successes to great skill OR great luck. The time frame of success is a decade. It takes 10 years to see if you’re right or wrong. A lot happens in that time.

If you ever have the luxury of looking back on your investment in one of the most world- changing companies, just remember that we’re in the service business. We were lucky to be a part of the founder’s journey.

I believe the danger of this business is in looking back and believing you were smart. Sometimes you were smart; sometimes you weren’t. But you were lucky either way.