Curiosity, Kindness, and Schlep
Three things that still matter when access to information is everywhere
This week, in a prep conversation with an investor who has allocated capital across sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds, and early-stage venture funds on four continents, I asked what still separates the people who find the real outliers from everyone else. I anticipated he would mention the known answers, such as pattern recognition, exception recognition, or an innate ability to be a founder magnet to n of 1 founders.
He did not hesitate and gave me three things.
Be curious about everything.
Be nice to everyone.
And schlep.
Schlep was the Sesame Street answer. It was not like the others. And it is the one word on that list you cannot fake.
We are in a moment where information is cheap and getting cheaper. Two people looking at the same market can now produce a decent synthesis in minutes (or their AI model can). That is no longer the edge. The edge is in what you do after the summary runs out. It is in getting on the plane. Going across the country or globe when everyone else is waiting for the deck. Asking one more question. Showing up somewhere you were not expected and paying attention.
That is schlepping. And fewer people are willing to do it because our screens convince us that access to information is the same as doing the work.
The kindness part is easy to underestimate too. Not the absent-minded politeness of glancing up from your phone when someone walks in. Real presence. Learning names. Looking people in the eye when they have nothing obvious to offer you. The allocator reiterated it costs you nothing to be kind and it compounds quietly over a career. I believe him.
Curiosity keeps you open. Kindness keeps you grounded. Schlep keeps you honest.
I have been trying to articulate why I want to build the most analog firm in a digital age. This one conversation this week got me closer than a year of thinking about it. The framework is not new. The willingness to actually live by it is what is getting rare.
With gratitude,
earn
This came out of a prep conversation for Swimming with Allocators. New episodes are out every Wednesday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.