His first investment was definitely motivated by the founding team - or at least, the motivation behind the founding team's desire to build that particular product for that particular market. I'm not a big fan of the implication that your product will only be successful if you solve your own problem, and this is a good example of a company that secured investment by solving a problem that wasn't directly their own - it's about the story behind the "why" they built that product that I think helps.
He says the three main factors he looks for in the startups he works with are:
^ In that order. Which is interesting - I would have assumed (1) Product, (2) Founding team, (3) Market.
Well it all starts from the people. The right people will figure things out fast enough and iterate on the market/the product.
The product can be changed. The market can be changed. Peoples' character cannot (easily) be changed.
His first investment was definitely motivated by the founding team - or at least, the motivation behind the founding team's desire to build that particular product for that particular market. I'm not a big fan of the implication that your product will only be successful if you solve your own problem, and this is a good example of a company that secured investment by solving a problem that wasn't directly their own - it's about the story behind the "why" they built that product that I think helps.