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"Wellness of the mind and body are critical for a long journey—sometimes 10 years plus—that founders go through to get their companies to the next level." |
1. You’ve transitioned from founding Kiip to leading BW Growth Ventures and launching Ascii.vc. What inspired this shift, and how do these ventures reflect your current vision for supporting startups?
After the sale of Kiip to Ninthdecimal/InMarket, I was inclined to take some time to myself to really recharge and recuperate from the 9+ year journey of scaling my first startup. Lo and behold, the world had other plans - the pandemic hit, and it was clear to me that rest was certainly in the books. During this time, I worked on how I could reverse the mental and physical toll that startup life had taken on me - I spent a few years on my mental health through therapy and meditation, and physical health through pilates, yoga, through regular physical rehabilitation and training. As cliche as all of these things sound - it gave me the full realization that wellness of the mind and body are critical for a long journey - sometimes 10 years plus - that founders go through to get their companies to the next level.
BW Growth Ventures became the holding company for my angel investments and my advising work. During my time off, I made 28 angel investments and sat on several advisory boards. This allowed me to to stay close to the community I held near and dear to my heart (the early-stage startup community) and to work on problems that really gave me a lot of excitement. I spent time with companies across the spectrum - in adtech/martech, data, proptech, e-commerce enablement, fintech, and more. The concept of BW Growth Ventures was to also mobilize my network of “founders in remission” - founders like me with a breadth of experience and knowledge in our respective fields but with cycles to put on companies that need that expertise. I had a very strict filter on other founders I worked with to bring into the network - you had to have operated on companies of a certain size, achieved certain revenue and growth metrics, achieved some kind of an exit, or had been directly involved in some atmospheric level growth companies.
2. BW Growth Ventures focuses on helping companies scale. What are some of the most common growth challenges you see among startups today, and how do you help founders navigate them?
My specialty is 0 to 1. This is in the earliest stages of a company. Who are your first customers? Who are your first hires? Who do you raise money from? What is your first “scaled” growth hack? How do you tell the story to bring in your first investors to believe in you? How do you stay differentiated? Why are you special - as in, why does an investor invest in you vs. others, and why do customers work with you vs. others?
Most startups don’t ask these critical questions on day one don’t criticize their own decisions constantly to make sure they’re getting to 1 in the optimal way. There’s a lot of guesswork. I help them save time by bringing them folks that will answer those questions pretty definitively, or by working with them on small, low cost experiments to get those answers quickly .
3. Ascii.vc takes a unique approach to venture capital. How does your experience as a founder shape your investment philosophy, and what types of founders or ideas are you most excited to support?
We invest in “boringtech” companies and “everyday human needs”. This is inspired by the angel investing journey I’ve taken in the past 5+ years. I find that the most successful companies and founders are usually the most hidden, don’t rely on sizzle but rather than the steak. Sometimes they need help with the sizzle and this is where my team can come in.
Additionally, the fund has some unique mechanisms that we’re working on (can’t speak too much about it publicly right now) that aligns the VC and the founder in getting to the next stage, the next round of funding, or even an exit. Too often the VC’s can talk about being value add, but when push comes to shove, nothing ends up happening during critical “help” periods, which are, let’s face it, future rounds, near-death experiences, critical hires, and acquisitions/mergers.
I made a lot of decisions as a founder. Many I think were very on-point, and many that were way off. I was an operator for many years. I had seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. That perspective means nothing can phase me. I always ask founders in our first calls to share what their biggest fears are. I can only be like your doctor - if you don’t tell me everything about your symptoms, I can’t help you.
4. The Next Stage aims to guide founders through personal and professional transitions post-scaling. Why do you think this stage is often overlooked, and what advice do you offer to entrepreneurs facing it?
I started this program to help founders in the AAPI community work with their communication and public speaking skills actually. It’s a pro-bono program I’ve run since September to help dozens of founders work on their skills in everyday life that I think will propel them. Communication is key. Public speaking isn’t just about standing up on stage; it involves speaking on conference calls, leading investor pitches, and being confident at an event in describing yourself, your business, and how to interact with people with power and influence.
5. You’ve emphasized the importance of communication for founders. In what ways does effective communication influence a startup’s success, both internally with teams and externally with investors and customers?
Over-communicate. Involve your investors in your decision making. No one likes surprises. You’d be surprised how bringing someone along your thought journey can be a lot more beneficial than surprising people with the negative results.
6. Your thoughts on “How to Ask” have resonated with many. Why is the ability to ask the right questions—or for help—so crucial for founders, and how can they improve this skill?
Most founders hide behind a veil of “what if they say no?”. You can’t do that. It’s critical to find out the no as soon as possible so you can learn what you need to do to convert that to a “yes”, or to simply move on. Also, there is an art to asking so that you can help others before they help you. Too often everything in business is transactional - what do you do, what do you want, how much do you want, what can you make me. What about - how are you going to be working by my side for decades? How can this be a symbiotic relationship that lasts beyond this deal?
Asking also involves confidence in your own product and company - what you can offer - and what you know you can bring to the table. Knowing your value comes from repetitive examples back to yourself that your skills can lead to results. This comes from execution and also holding firm to what you can do. Focus on putting energy into your strengths, not on fixing your weaknesses. Find others who are strong at your weaknesses and work together; you will be formidable together.
7. Public speaking can be a challenge for many entrepreneurs. What practical advice do you give to founders who want to become more confident and engaging speakers?
You’d have to go through my program! Sign up on https://brianwong.co. Briefly, public speaking is never reciting from a script. Public speaking is like having conversation with the crowd; and this will come from any normal natural conversation: conversation starters. A conversation is pretty boring if it’s just unstructured and doesn’t have a structure or prompt. Write down prompts like an outline that puts down the 5-10 things you want to talk about (anything more than 10 is overkill). Then, talk through these points like you’re having a conversation with the person (in this case the person is the crowd).
Stories are also critical in conversation. A conversation without you referring to a story that you experienced or heard second hand - is not an entertaining or natural conversation. Stories engage people and makes them feel something. It helps make knowledge memorable. If I told you a story of when I broke my knee playing ice hockey, would it be memorable than if I just said that hockey was a dangerous sport? Or, what about that time that my water bottle in my jacket prevented me from breaking my ribs after running into a tree while skiing? These stories both demonstrated the danger of winter sports but told a story instead of the end result or the final point.
8. Having been both a founder and an investor, what leadership qualities do you believe are essential for founders today, and how can they develop these skills over time?
Leadership qualities that are critical in any founder and an investor:
1. Not overreacting; not experiencing extremes in emotions and staying level headed
2. Nothing is as great as it seems, nothing is as terrible as it seems
3. An understanding of balance of work and life so maintain a healthy view on how to be productive and constructive
4. Leading by example: showing up, flying to wherever you’re needed, burning the midnight oil (when needed), going above and beyond for great causes and people, being resourceful and finding help when needed, asking “how I can be helpful”, being observant of employees needs
5. Overcommunication
6. Creating optionality: resourcefulness in a leader is the ability to generate options out of thin air through ideas, pure innovation, brute force, or through the people in their network
7. Definitive decision making: leaders are able to make decisions with little to no data and accept the responsibilities of doing so.
9. Scaling a business often comes with tough decisions. How do you guide founders in scaling with purpose, ensuring growth aligns with their long-term vision and values?
This is just the nature of being a founder. You accept the successes you are a part of and the consequences of the failures you are a part of. It’s also important to know what motivates you and accept it. If it’s building something big; great. Changing the world; great. Money: even better. Don’t try to pretend that you’re aiming for something you’re not.
10. If you could teach a workshop on any skill unrelated to business or technology, what would it be, and why?
Golf. Such an incredible sport and an allegory for life and business. How someone shows up to a round of golf, how they treat the game, themselves, and others during a round before and after, and of course during - is their entire personality in one.
Bio :
Brian also launched his first book at the age of 25: The Cheat Code, published by Crown Business / Penguin Random House. The Cheat Code contains 71 bite-sized and virtually effortless shortcuts to get a leg up on the competition, garner attention for creative thinkers and their ideas, and to accelerate success. The book has been translated into Simplified Chinese and Arabic, and is featured by Forbes, CNBC, Elle, The Telegraph, The Globe and Mail, and many more publications around the world, and is quickly becoming the go-to book for entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial advice for our generation.
Interviewed by: Shivam Sharma
Edited by: Shivam Sharma
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