6. Initially, it looked like it would work
• We had meetings
• People paid to
join
• People agreed to
become Board
Members
• We were in the
paper
7. Brought in great fin tech companies
Raised $1.6 million
from Peter Thiel and
500 Startups
But people liked to invest locally
Couldn’t sell enough memberships
9. The moment where the feedback hit me
• Feedback is a powerful tool
• A few people I respect
pulled me aside and asked
me if this niche format was
really working
• I fought it for awhile
• I thought I could work
through the challenge
10. Merged with St. Louis Arch Angels
…which really meant they saved me
11. I thought failure was fast
• It was over in an instant
• There was no way to fight it
This type of failure is rare
17. I had a market insight, not a customer
insight
18. Failing with grace
• The entire concept didn’t work, but there were things I
built that did have value
• Turn those next things into your next business
• The due diligence team I built for FinServe lives on with
the Arch Angels and Cultivation Capital
• This team did diligence on 16 companies, eight of which
got funded for a total of $2.5 million
19. Good advice from Nixon
Always give your best; never
get discouraged; never be
petty. Always remember
others may hate you, but
those who hate you don't win
unless you hate them, and
then you destroy yourself.
20. In Summary
• We fail sometimes even when at first it appears to be
working
• We need people who give us real feedback – don’t stop
until someone doesn’t like your idea
• Figure out the value you are creating, and double down
• Customer is something you never stop learning about
