Eric Tarczynski
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2023 VC predictions: Finding an exit from the ‘messy middle’
University entrepreneurship — without the university
This month, we’re five years into building Contrary. Along the way, we’ve raised hundreds of millions from some of the world’s top institutions and have been fortunate to back startups like Ramp, Anduril and many others.
But just like the stories of the startups we back, the journey has taught us a number of lessons the hard way.
I’ve been reflecting on our history as we hit this milestone and wanted to share a few things that I wish I knew five years ago.
Early logos are important
One of the few regrets I have is that we didn’t go logo-hunting early. We didn’t chase hot companies that were raising rounds led by household name firms. Instead, we stuck to our knitting on Fund I, leading rounds in startups and teams we were convinced in and had sourced via our own infrastructure. I was under the impression that if we did precisely what we said we’d do — lead rounds, back great talent, bring a unique model to market — we’d stand out.
Turns out, when you’re building a venture firm from scratch (limited track record, didn’t work in venture prior, etc.), logos matter. They matter for prospective LPs, who use them as a proxy for access; they matter for your peer set, who use …
