Don’t judge a̶ ̶b̶o̶o̶k̶ an investor by their cover

Founder/PM: I need 20 firms who can give me $20 million each. Can you get those on my funnel?

Me: (looks at funnel) We already got ‘em. BTW, you manage $150 million so what you really need on your funnel are early adopters - and you’ve got early adopters that can give you $20 million each.

Founder/PM: Where? I see some $200 million dollar RIAs and family offices, a bunch of $400 million, only a handful of double-digit billion dollar firms. I want $20 million dollar allocations.

Me: That $100 million RIA invested $20 million with a client, that $2B RIA has $40 million, that $750 million firm has $25+ million with two different clients.

Also Me: Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Early adopters aren’t defined by their AUM. They are defined by their DNA. They are curators, looking for something different, something boutique. They are people investing with people - in people. They aren’t afraid to put their money where their heart is.

When people invest from the heart alongside the mind, it usually comes with some oomph. Extra digits or more commas. So don’t judge investors (or people) by appearances… or by numbers… or stats… or preconceived ideas of what “should” be true.

Things aren’t always what they seem. Lots of us are proof of that.