VC Office Hours
Talk to James Wang, author of Weighty Thoughts and General Partner of Creative Ventures
In addition to my longer post coming out later this week, I wanted to try something new.
As some of you may know, my day job is being General Partner of Creative Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in early stage deep tech companies. I wanted to try and hold office hours with some of my subscribers. In theory, this is most useful for founders of companies or aspiring founders, but I’m open to others as well. If this goes well I may do more of these in the future. Also, if you know someone who might benefit from this, share this post with them!
Office Hour Details
When? February-March 2024
Time: 15 minutes
How do I apply? Fill out this form here.
FAQ
Who can apply?
Anyone who is a Weighty Thoughts subscriber and is a founder or aspiring founder, or just wants to talk to a VC. While at Creative Ventures I focus on early stage deep tech companies (including those focusing on interesting AI applications), founders from any industry may apply if they want to get feedback from a VC.
What if I’m in a very different timezone than you?
Anyone in any timezone can apply. One of the questions in the form is what timezone you are in so when I go through sign ups I will try to offer spots during times that may work for both of us.
What can I ask?
Most things are fair game, and I’m happy to be fairly blunt/frank.
Fundraising questions are usually what people are most concerned with, including when to do so, how to best do so, etc. Another general class of questions I hear a lot are operations-related: how to build a team and culture of a company early on, how to best hire/fire, and what to focus on at a specific stage of the company. Finally, I do sometimes hear career-related questions like, should I do a startup, what’s the “path” through startups/VC, when’s the right time, etc.
What can’t I ask?
Don’t ask for money or intros.
If you’re interested in Creative Ventures, there’s a process on the website, and I’m trying to open this up for those seeking advice rather than the normal flood of fundraising solicitations.
Will everyone be able to sign up for office hours?
Given time constraints I won’t be able to talk to everyone who applies. However, if I decide to continue holding office hours in the future you can indicate in your application if you’d like to be considered for potential future office hours.
I may also do AMA/Q&A style posts or videos if there are a lot of overlapping questions and significant demand, so I can scale up responses.
Interested? Subscribe below if you haven’t already, and then fill out the form here.