Neil Mehta

Baum was sleeping on the floor. I mean, there are points where I talked to Baum more than most anybody else in my life. I mean, Benny and my wife. Oh, yeah, still to this day. I still talk to him a tremendous amount. Back then, I don't think there was an hour a day where I hadn't talked to him. 2 a.m. in the morning, 3 a.m. in the morning, 4 a.m. in the morning, 3 p.m. in the afternoon, 10 a.m.

Baum was sleeping on the floor. I mean, there are points where I talked to Baum more than most anybody else in my life. I mean, Benny and my wife. Oh, yeah, still to this day. I still talk to him a tremendous amount. Back then, I don't think there was an hour a day where I hadn't talked to him. 2 a.m. in the morning, 3 a.m. in the morning, 4 a.m. in the morning, 3 p.m. in the afternoon, 10 a.m.

in the morning. His cycle times were 24 hours. There were points of enormous exhaustion for him and the team.

in the morning. His cycle times were 24 hours. There were points of enormous exhaustion for him and the team.

I have a controversial statement, which is I don't think there are many truly amazing founders that are building bad businesses. I've maybe read it to one or two, but they figure it out pretty quickly. I think that truly remarkable founders think in terms of jaw-dropping customer experiences. They think in terms of competitive moats. They think in terms of scale, getting to large TAMs.

I have a controversial statement, which is I don't think there are many truly amazing founders that are building bad businesses. I've maybe read it to one or two, but they figure it out pretty quickly. I think that truly remarkable founders think in terms of jaw-dropping customer experiences. They think in terms of competitive moats. They think in terms of scale, getting to large TAMs.

So every once in a while, I run into a founder that hasn't figured that all out yet, but usually they're very young and the learning curve is very steep. It always starts with founders for us.

So every once in a while, I run into a founder that hasn't figured that all out yet, but usually they're very young and the learning curve is very steep. It always starts with founders for us.

Now, I'm going to come to business models in a second, but if you believe what Green Oaks believes, which is, I don't know, there's been 100 billion people on earth that have lived and something between the number of 10,000 to 100,000 have affected the technological progress of humankind.

Now, I'm going to come to business models in a second, but if you believe what Green Oaks believes, which is, I don't know, there's been 100 billion people on earth that have lived and something between the number of 10,000 to 100,000 have affected the technological progress of humankind.

Our job at Green Oaks is to find a few hundred more that could join the pantheon of great humans that have driven humanity forward. Then we're squarely focused on that first. I think that where we could generate alpha, where we're sometimes differentially great partners, is by having a deep understanding of the business model.

Our job at Green Oaks is to find a few hundred more that could join the pantheon of great humans that have driven humanity forward. Then we're squarely focused on that first. I think that where we could generate alpha, where we're sometimes differentially great partners, is by having a deep understanding of the business model.

So in the case of Coupon, in the case of most of the businesses we invested, we made multiple rounds in. It's never up and to the right. Oftentimes in internet and technology, good businesses are hidden in bad P&Ls. Not everything works right away, but things are going really fast. And people sometimes think Green Oaks is looking for momentum or forward progress.

So in the case of Coupon, in the case of most of the businesses we invested, we made multiple rounds in. It's never up and to the right. Oftentimes in internet and technology, good businesses are hidden in bad P&Ls. Not everything works right away, but things are going really fast. And people sometimes think Green Oaks is looking for momentum or forward progress.

Actually, we're happy with volatility. It's kind of counterintuitive. Volatility is something like we're very open to. And we're open to it because when there's moments of high volatility, it's a lot harder to understand what's happening to a business, what's happening to a market. And so we will follow great founders into their businesses.

Actually, we're happy with volatility. It's kind of counterintuitive. Volatility is something like we're very open to. And we're open to it because when there's moments of high volatility, it's a lot harder to understand what's happening to a business, what's happening to a market. And so we will follow great founders into their businesses.

And there'll be moments where the businesses do not feel all that great. There's been, I think without exception, most of the businesses we've been invested in for more than five years have gone through a rough patch or two where the fundamental premise of the business and the quality of the business is being questioned.

And there'll be moments where the businesses do not feel all that great. There's been, I think without exception, most of the businesses we've been invested in for more than five years have gone through a rough patch or two where the fundamental premise of the business and the quality of the business is being questioned.

And I think if you could see through it, sometimes that's right to be questioned. We were wrong. But every once in a while, you could sort of see through that and see the other side that this is just one step along the way of building a great business.

And I think if you could see through it, sometimes that's right to be questioned. We were wrong. But every once in a while, you could sort of see through that and see the other side that this is just one step along the way of building a great business.