Andrew D'Souza
@andrewdsouza
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Founder @boardy_ai & @getclearco | I talk about AI, founder advice, and VC | Invested $2.5B into 10k+ businesses with @getclearco | @ycombinator and @hf0 alum
Joined August 2009
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Today is my birthday, so I decided to birth something fun and useful we’ve been working on.
Introducing
@MeetBoardy
, the AI board member you deserve.
Over the years, I’ve had great board members and not so great board members, but one thing was always true: every single one was
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Sam Altman said something 10 months ago that’s still on my mind:
“I feel so bad about the advice I gave while running YC.”
OpenAI, Airbnb, and more would’ve failed if they followed that advice.
Here’s how startup advice is killing founder ambition:
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In fact, many examples exist of companies becoming insanely successful by rejecting conventional startup advice.
Even Sam Altman didn’t follow the playbook preached by YC:
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Most Silicon Valley startup advice is written by investors who prioritize reducing risk.
As a result, founders are forced to think small.
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1/ Today, we're excited to launch
@clearbanc
Valuation - the fastest way for startups to know how much they are worth. Startups will be able to track their growth every week and see how their progress is reflected in their valuation in real-time. Free to founders globally.
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But if you want to build something that will change the world, you have to be willing to take bigger risks.
There's no "proven formula" that will turn every startup idea into a success.
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The problem with advice from “experts” & famous entrepreneurs is it's extrapolated from limited experience, and founders treat it as gospel without questioning the source.
Even good advice can be bad when it constrains your thinking.
So, take most advice with a grain of salt.
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Let’s take OpenAI as an example:
They raised $1 billion before they even had a product.
And for a long time, they had no idea how they would make a single dollar:
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1/ Today, we've launched Inventory Financing. For the first time ever
@clearbanc
will purchase your inventory upfront directly from suppliers so you don’t have to worry about payback until your inventory reaches your customer’s doors. See thread for more.
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It’s tempting to listen to what other people have to say.
Especially when you’re receiving it from someone successful.
But if there was a recyclable playbook to get to unicorn status.
Anyone could be the next Facebook, Airbnb, or Slack.
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Here's the classic Silicon Valley startup advice:
• Do things that don’t scale
• Raise very little capital upfront
• Find product-market fit in a small niche
But every startup is different.
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Excited to announce
@clearco
has exclusively partnered with
@microacquire
and
@agazdecki
to make it easy to buy & sell eCommerce companies.
We teamed up with
@microacquire
to 1. help founders exit and 2. help buyers “Acquire Now, Pay Later” - - changing the game for eComm M&A.
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If you’re a founder looking to disrupt an entire industry,
You won’t find success by thinking small or copying someone else’s path.
• Airbnb began as a solution for conference attendees.
• Netflix only became a streaming company after 9 years.
• Amazon first sold books.
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While going through YC with Clearco, I got a lot of "advice" on how to run my company.
Sam was my partner at YC, and told us to block out a lot of advice and double down on what was working.
Thankfully, we didn't listen to most of it, and we ended up building a $2.5B company.
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Now, they’re all billion or trillion-dollar companies.
There’s no secret formula to get to this level of success.
It’s all about ignoring the noise, thinking big, and believing you can do it.
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Being an employee, executive or founder of a high growth company is like being a high-performance athlete. Lebron sleeps 12 hours a day. He takes takes care of his body so when it's game time, he's fully present. The same applies to me and my team. Health always comes first.
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Does fundraising really need to be so hard?
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If you want to be an entrepreneur, learn to make a cold call.
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Over the past 7 years, my core identity has been linked to
@getclearco
as CEO. That being said, as of today, my co-founder, our current President,
@micheleromanow
is officially our new CEO, while I’m moving into the Executive Chairman role. More below.
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But you also increase your chances of building something truly unique.
So, follow whatever advice you want – just make sure you're not killing your ambition or thinking too small.
Build what you really want.
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We dropped the banc. Introducing Clearco. (
@getclearco
) Over the last couple of months, we’ve been working on a full product suite that is beyond capital - arming founders with powerful insights, technology, and the right connections. LFG!
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If you want to swing big and create something truly novel, you have to block out a lot of the conventional advice.
You increase the chances of striking out...
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@JohnTory
Please don’t be on the wrong side of history here. Take action now while there’s still hope of saving lives
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To all the VCs, investors and bankers who perpetuate and profit from systemic racism, injustice and inequality:
We hear your silence right now. We’re coming for you. And we’re not fucking stopping.
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Today we’re launching ClearAngel - the world's first automated angel investor, bringing together capital, network and advice for early-stage founders in a way that's never been done before.
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Another
@clearbanc
chapter begins today as we've officially moved the entire team into our new offices in Toronto. To my team, you all have a special story to share about your journey here and I couldn't be more excited to grow into our new space in the next coming months.
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A lot is happening today.
1. Clearbanc is now
@getclearco
2. We closed Series C - but not for us, for our founders so they don't have to.
Thankful for all the founders who chose us as their growth partner & for
@oakhcft
to help us help more founders win.
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With the $300M USD we've raised at
@clearbanc
, we will be able to deploy even more funding to the founders who need it most, bringing us much closer to our goal of funding $1B to 2,000 startups in 2019.
@business
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At
@clearbanc
, we're dedicated to helping as many founders as possible. Today, in addition to being the largest eCommerce investor in the world, we’re opening funding to B2B companies and launched our new program, Runway.
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“Founders don’t need to go and pitch their life story, they don’t need to spend hours and hours on due diligence and they don’t need to get on a flight and meet VCs in person, we’ve automated all of that.”
Clearbanc has closed a Series B of $300M USD. Today is just the beginning. It is our mission to democratize fundraising so it doesn’t matter where you live, what you look like or who you know. Let the data decide. Hello, new world. 🌎
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Update: In January, we funded 17 business through
#clearangel
. In Feb, we funded 25. One week into March, we've already funded 27 startups and we’re just getting started! LFG! 🚀
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So awesome to do a
#Cafecito
talk with
@FrancisSuarez
today to kick off
#miamitechweek
and talk about
@getclearco
and
#ClearAngel
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As a CEO, I'm confident sharing my problems and stressors that worry me with my team. I'd much rather have 200 brains working on a problem than just my own. I don't have to walk on eggshells with my team and can actually be my true self.
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I’m thrilled to welcome our first CFO, Curt Sigfstead, former Head of West Coast Tech Investment Banking from JP Morgan, and our newest board member, Bruce Sewell, former Apple & Intel GC to our
@clearbanc
team. Let's go!
@businessinsider
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I get it. Jacob Blake (and George Floyd) may not have been model citizens.
If we all deserved to get shot based on the worst moments and decisions of our lives, I would be dead right now. Wouldn’t you?
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Totally disagree. Almost impossible to get a deal done without a VC associate “on the inside” advocating for your deal.
Who do you think is doing the diligence and writing the investment memo?
Talking with a VC Associate will almost never convert into actual funding.
Just stating the facts.
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I'm speechless.
OpenAI just released GPT-4o, and it's the craziest thing I've ever seen.
Here are 5 of the most impressive use cases:
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Awesome article about
@clearbanc
in the
@WSJ
today! Great job
@MicheleRomanow
and thanks
@tomiogeron
for telling our story!
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Ugh… I knew we screwed up this rebrand
Want to build a multi-billion dollar fintech company? It's simple. Your company has to be either a 4 or 5 letter word.
Brex, Ramp, Xero, SoFi, Step, Bolt, Fast, Stripe, Plaid, Alloy, Square, Chime, Blend, Digit...
I don't make the rules
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With this new funding, we'll be able to help founders across the globe from the earliest stage through exit. So glad to have
@SoftBank
and many others join us as our new partners. Looking forward to this next chapter of growth for
@getclearco
!
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An investor’s job is to find opportunity and potential where others aren’t looking. That’s where you find true alpha.
If you’re an investor and you still think your job is “pattern matching”, you’re doing it wrong.
We have machines for that now. And they’re better, faster, and cheaper than you.
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In so many ways, Silicon Valley has peaked. I know some VCs feel like the world revolves around them... We're coming for you!
#WeTheNorth
cc:
@clearbanc
@Raptors
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One of our
@getclearco
#ClearAngel
founders is looking for a
#lumber
supplier. Let me know if you have any hookups.
This is not a meme tweet
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Incredibly honoured to have been selected as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, however, this award isn’t for me. Every day I get to witness the hard work and brilliance of the amazing team
@clearbanc
and this honour belongs as much to each of them as it does me.
@Top40_40
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To remain silent is not an option. It’s evident the systemic injustice and state-sanctioned violence against Black people need to come to an end. There is absolutely no place for racism in this world.
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I started my career in consultancy. At one point, I could no longer find the motivation to work, until I started building companies and pursuing entrepreneurship. It maybe a risk but it was worth it. Make sure the work you do everyday gets you energized and motivated.
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Thanks for reading!
Follow
@andrewdsouza
for more controversy in your feed.
And feel free to RT if you found this interesting:
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We're working hard to help founders win. We want them to own and control more of their companies, and we don't believe they need to spend half their time pitching investors, no...
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"What do you look for in a great employee?"
My ideal employee is someone who is not afraid to be honest with me. Rather than gossiping about it, I encourage my team to tell me when things are going wrong or whether I said/did something wrong.
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We’ve already had 6 start from
@clearbanc
alum. But we do explicitly hire future founders with the pitch: come here to help other founders win every day, meet a cofounder here, start a business and we’ll fund you
It's fascinating to see founder "mafias" emerge. I recently learned that over 8 companies have been started by Jet alum. I know several from Gilt. What other companies have produced lots of founders (besides PayPal)?
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Quebec and
@francoislegault
showing real leadership and care for the lives of Quebecers.
@JustinTrudeau
@fordnation
@JohnTory
@cafreeland
@celliottability
- they have opened the door. Please follow suit and take action before people start dying
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ICYMI: Meet the first of its kind inventory financing for DTC founders. Let
@clearbanc
pay for all your inventory upfront and only pay for it when your inventory gets sold. Thanks to
@modernretail
@ahhensel
for the awesome overview.
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For those who misunderstood me: I’m not talking about coming after your reputation with pitch forks. That’s not my place or my skill set.
I’m talking about coming after your livelihood with a better, more inclusive business model. Where it actually hurts.
To all the VCs, investors and bankers who perpetuate and profit from systemic racism, injustice and inequality:
We hear your silence right now. We’re coming for you. And we’re not fucking stopping.
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We’re proud to share that
@clearbanc
has officially launched in the UK. Starting today, UK businesses will have access to funding options, along with data insights and our ecosystem network to help grow and scale their businesses to the next level.
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Elon Musk once said:
“AI will probably be smarter than any single human next year. By 2029, AI is probably smarter than all humans combined.”
5 reasons why managers will be replaced by AI sooner than you think:
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.
@HarryStebbings
interviews
@MicheleRomanow
on
@twentyminutevc
about all things startup, finance and
@clearbanc
. Love it!
So excited to release one of the most fun
@twentyminutevc
episodes ever w/
@MicheleRomanow
@clearbanc
on why we need a different asset class to finance the repeatable parts of your business and why founders need to own more of their companies!
#startup
#vc
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We spend almost no time actually trying to understand human beings who have a completely different world view and life experience from us.
Prediction: tomorrow, we still won’t
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One of the best advice I've been given was to set goals that makes you want to jump out of bed, not stay in bed.
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We're here to empower you with the insights, resources, and connections you need to take your company to the next level. Get your valuation here:
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In getting back to writing, I shared my reflections on our raise, why we rebranded, and what this means for our future. Excited for what’s to come.
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Loving the transformation and growth of Toronto's tech scene. Couldn't be more proud to be part of an ecosystem of supportive companies and leaders. Let's go!
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Today, we’ve officially launched our partnership with celebrity-brand incubator Caravan and CAA, to help fund celeb businesses like Carrie Underwood’s
@fit52
. Brands may not want to exit, and we aim to help accelerate growth without giving up ownership.
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2019 was an intense year for me and my team
@clearbanc
. We could've taken the easy way out, admitted defeat and lied to ourselves but we didn't. We powered through and recovered instead of infighting, politics or blaming each other. We stepped up and came back even stronger.
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Excited about this partnership and what it means for early stage founders looking to grow their businesses (and retain a lot more ownership along the way)!
We're ready to grow the next wave of world-changing entrepreneurs 🚀
Incredibly proud to partner with
@SVB_Financial
to power the capital program for their Startup Banking eComm and SaaS Founders. Learn how we're helping SVB Founders win:
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Is there a future where the
@Raptors
end up with Giannis AND Kawhi??
And Jamal Murray for the Canadian Content🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦?
A man can dream
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K this has been fun. Now back to work to find more unicorns and give them lower cost capital that
@Jason
😃
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I used a very simple playbook that ANY FOUNDER can copy:
My girlfriend became my cofounder. Then she became a celebrity. Now we LITERALLY have zero problems in our startup and everything is perfect.
100% success rate but requires playing the long game. Medium post to follow
Not true! Getting a celebrity on board is LITERALLY the only thing that a startup founder should focus on.
Once secured, all of your other problems will magically be solved.
You will also immediately become a happier, taller and more attractive human being.
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Nobody really has it figured out. Everyone is just like you and I - and that was the biggest unlock for me to say hey, you can build this.
@clearbanc
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Wow, this thread blew up...
If you’re a founder, not looking for more non-generic advice, sign up at .
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Do Raptors fans have shorter lifespans than normal humans?
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One of the best things a founder we've backed has said to me: "I'm in control when I'm talking to investors."
Just more reason to keep pushing and building what we do at
@clearbanc
.
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Today,
@getclearco
officially launched in the Netherlands! This is just the first of many more countries we’ll be entering this year. Committing €100 million to back Dutch startups. Our mission is to help ALL founders win.
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I actually don't know how to operate if I have to be a different person on the outside than in my head. I function better when I can be open and say what's on my mind or what I'm excited and nervous about than pretend to feel great and make it seem like everything is okay.
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Bring on
@sidewalklabs
and let the boom continue. Read our letter to Toronto's city council
#toronto
is having a moment.
@sidewalklabs
is a great opportunity for this city. Now is the time to be bold. Let's not miss the larger opportunity in favour of protectionism and NIMBYism. Read our letter to Toronto City Council
@JohnTory
@cityoftoronto
@SidewalkToronto
#CityofTO
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You can have a great plan, but it’s the people who can’t sleep at night because they are thinking & obsessing about their business idea who will beat you every time.
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Some people on my team are working on the weekends & doing overtime to meet the demand this time of year. I'm beyond fortunate to have a team that's equally (if more) passionate about our mission to democratize funding. Appreciate all the hard work from everyone
@clearbanc
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Hi everyone, we're hiring account executives to join the team at Clearbanc! Looking for founders and future-founders who can help entrepreneurs access capital without the time, effort and expense of fundraising.
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It's a super intense time for our founders and for us
@clearbanc
. Our customers are focused on executing their business right now. We are here to help our founders win and we aren't trying to sell you something you don't need.
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Great season Raptors. You gave us some great moments.
Awesome series. Really fun to watch. Tatum is a special player. He will have some impact on the league for a long time.
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I just read something really interesting…
GPT-4o was inspired by the movie "Her" 🧵
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It's time to pass the torch to Toronto, both in tech and in basketball.
@clearbanc
is excited to back the
#TechBet
!
#WeTheNorth
... Coming for you
@RonConway
@chamath
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When you're having a conversation with somebody, if the first interaction they
know is that you're on their side and that you want them to win,
then the rest of that interaction is going to go much better. Be explicit and say "I want you to win", it can go a long way.
#winning
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I’m trying something new. BFCM is around the corner and lots of founders have hit me up in my inbox. So instead, I’m opening up my direct line: 437-747-5714. If you’re looking for advice, tips or just someone to talk to, just send me a text and let’s chat.🔥
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At
@clearbanc
, for every new Founder School class,
@MicheleRomanow
and I dedicate an hour to two hours sharing our stories, learning about their stories and answering their questions. Building personal relationships means a lot to me and is a key part of my role as CEO.
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I’ve trained over 200 managers.
Surprisingly, most of them don't delegate.
Big mistake.
Here's how to get more done by doing less (and how to 10x it with AI):
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.
@MicheleRomanow
is literally the best negotiator I know. She starts off every vendor negotiation saying "everyone has a favorite customer and a customer who got the best deal. We're going to be both". It's one of our secret weapons
@clearbanc
A younger woman I did a deal with recently complimented me, admiringly calling me a “skilled negotiator”, and that she wanted to learn from me. Rather than feeling flattered or proud, I was embarrassed and bashful that she had even noticed.
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Often as an entrepreneur, if you're building something 10x better than the current options, people don't believe you, it's too good to be true. Don't let that hinder you. At
@clearbanc
we're building the best product to help founders win and the product we wanted as founders.
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I'm 39.
I’ve funded 10,000+ companies with
@getclearco
, raised $1.5B, and left it all behind to start an AI company.
6 unexpected lessons I’ve learned from being a founder:
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This was also the 8th time I've done this in the past 7 years. 10th if you count debt raises.
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This is amazing.
#trescomas
Announcement!
@microacquire
is exclusively partnering with
@getclearco
to fund eCommerce acquisitions.
MicroAcquire has 250+ eCommerce startups listed and we're making it easy for these companies to get acquired.
Got some friends to explain why this is huge for eCommerce.
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