Working for Jimmy – Tremendous
Yesterday morning, I didn’t want to get out of bed. I was on 4 hours sleep. But then I thought, “Jimmy needs me”.
Who’s Jimmy? Jimmy is the name I’ve given to that anonymous founder out there who needs help.
Jimmy is just starting out. Nobody believes in him, but he has a killer idea that’s going to make life better.
Jimmy is my customer.
Learning from Michele Ferrero, Chocolatier
Who doesn’t love those little Ferrero Rocher chocolates? Whenever I go to the pharmacy for a flu shot or some other unpleasant task, I pick one up at the checkout counter.
But it wasn’t until yesterday that I found out Ferrero is a multibillion dollar empire!
Turns out they make Nutella, Kinder, and a zillion other things. The company is worth at least $40 billion, and founder Michele Ferrero was the richest man in Italy.
In a wonderful episode of the Founders podcast, host David Senra explains how Michele kept himself laser focused on the customer. He gave her a name: Mrs. Valeria.
Mrs. Valeria was Michele’s boss. She would decide the success or failure of his business and the livelihood of thousands of employees.
Every decision he made, he made with Mrs. Valeria in mind.
Inventing Jimmy
As I listened to this podcast, I thought to myself: how can I take Michele’s lesson and apply it to angel investing?
I realized I needed my own Mrs. Valeria. A representative founder.
I decided to call him Jimmy.
Jimmy is loaded with skills. Jimmy has a couple of hardcore builders working with him. And Jimmy is about to create something huge.
But nobody believes in Jimmy. He’s an outsider. And he needs my help.
What Does Jimmy Need?
So what does Jimmy need? I came up with a list:
- Cash.
- Prompt responses. Jimmy is trying to move fast. He cannot wait for a week for me to reply to an email — all too common amongst VC’s.
- A clear yes/no. Jimmy needs to know where he stands.
- Clear rationale for a no. This will help him find out what he needs to do to get funded.
- Intros. Jimmy is an outsider. He needs intros to other investors, customers, and key employees.
- Occasional advice. Sometimes, Jimmy needs someone to kick around ideas with. But he doesn’t need meddling.
- Help boosting social posts. These are the key to customer acquisition for many companies. So I take some time each day to like and comment on posts from my founders. It’s fun to see what they’re working on!
Wrap-Up
It’s really hard to think of “founders” in general. It’s much easier to think of one person.
That’s why I created Jimmy.
Maybe Michele Ferrero faced the same thing. He created Mrs. Valeria.
No matter what business you’re in, the customer is king. Or as they say in Japanese, okyakusama wa kamisama — “the customer is God.”
So when I’m tired and my behind is dragging, I think of Jimmy.
Jimmy’s tired too. But he needs me to clock in and get to work.
Together, we have a chance to achieve something great.
More on tech:
Don’t Give Answers. Ask Questions.
Do Non-Founders Make Better Investors?
Hot Categories I’ve Never Invested In
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