Investing in Adjacent Possibilities

The Way of the Thematic Investor

I have been thinking a great deal about the thought process around investment themes and decision-making. As a generalist, I am a functional expert in nothing. I envy firms that emphasize themes and work around market outlooks before hitting the sourcing trail. This strategy is much more time-intensive but, in theory, could bring you much better opportunities if you do it correctly. I spoke to Jack Freeman of Peakspan Capital about this on my podcast, which should be airing in the next couple of weeks.

Despite my focus on stage and geography, not themes, I see some pattern recognition of companies addressing similar problems through their product offerings. So, as I continue to hone my craft as an investor, I hope that I will be able to sit back and develop conviction around specific ideas and themes. For example, I read Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future, which describes Accel as the first specialist investment firm. The book identifies Accel as having the ability to identify "adjacent possibilities through their specialist lens." One accel sayings are that "every deal should lead to the next deal."