As the poster-child for an adult with ADD, there’s really not a baked/disciplined strategy as to how I work. That said, I try to focus on a couple of big areas where I spend my time every day (and also to help put a bit of structure to tame the “cat chasing a laser pointer” side of my brain. One of the best things about being in the venture industry is the ability to work on a bunch of really different things at the same time – perfect for a guy like me. I travel a ton to the west coast, so on travel days I’m far less productive, but it’s a part of the job that is essential and something I’ve grown to appreciate.
The one constant that I keep is being out of the house early, typically by 6am. My aim is to be in the office around 7am (yes, I drive an hour each way). Call me crazy, but I love mornings and the ability to spend until about 9am churning through email. I get a ton of email every day, so the 2 hours first thing in the AM dedicate to email is critical to helping me get through it all. Occasionally I’ll do a breakfast meeting, but I don’t like to make a habit of them (they always feel rushed and a bit too formal to me).
Once 9am rolls around, all bets are off – the world is wide awake and I’m off to the races. I have a framework to help prioritize time and will split the rest of the day into 3 buckets – Working with Dogpatch & my portfolio companies, meeting new & interesting individuals and meeting new companies. It’s really important for me to make sure that I maintain a sense of openness to the community and to the portfolio – so 9-5 is totally dedicated to this part of my mantra. Every day is very different and that’s part of what I love. Any given day can change quickly so I try to have buffer time built in to absorb that. Here is a snapshot of an actual day:
9:00am – meet with a new company
10am – Starbucks #2
10:05am – Work with a portfolio company on his launch strategy
Lunch – Starbucks #3, Chipotle and email catch-up
1230pm – chat with one of my partners on a portfolio company
1:00pm – meet with a new company
2:00pm – TechStars mentor meetings
3:30pm – meet a VP sales looking for his next gig, Starbucks #4
4:00pm – reference call on a new deal
4:30pm – update call with a portfolio CEO on his VP marketing search
5:00pm – meet with a new companny
6:00pm – drinks with a group of founders
8:00pm – head home
I typically only try to stay out 1 or 2 nights a week (as a promise to my wife/son). When I’m not out, I try to be home by 6ish to cook dinner for the family. A rule I’m starting to really live by: when I’m home, I’m home. My focus is on my family; work can wait until they go to bed.
