Scot Wingo - founder of Spiffy and Triangle Tweener Fund
Show Notes
[01:18] Scot gave a brief outline of his background. Scot has a technology background and two career journeys: a serial entrepreneur and investor/enthusiast/mentor of entrepreneurship.
[03:29] Scot provided a high level overview of Spiffy, a mobile car care company which is nationwide. The team is trying to build Starbucks for car care.
[05:03] Scot took a deeper dive into where he got the idea of Spiffy from. Spiffy follows two important themes: services are going digital and customers want fast and seamless experience (control through an app).
[08:09] Scot shared the key market segment of Spiffy (e.g. rental car companies, fleet). They value time and convenience as they use the time saved to generate revenue.
[10:29] Scot discussed the genesis of Triangle Tweener Fund. He started the Tweeter List in 2015 (50 companies). He ended up drawing a line from a million annualized run rate to 80 million. He did this every year.
[14:49] Scot discussed why the concept of Triangle Tweener fund can be applicable/relevant in other local markets.
[18:04] The return distribution of typical VC fund was discussed. Scot shared with the audience why the Triangle Tweener fund may work well by not missing any long-tail big winners.
[22:10] The current investment algorithm of the Triangle Tweener Fund was discussed.
[24:16] Scot shared the approach of light touch due diligence used at the Triangle Tweener Fund.
[26:35] Scot highlighted some of the key elements of funding success. He believes that one of the most important factors is whether the founder has the “twinkles” in his/her eyes (passion and greed).
[29:57] The funding trend and entrepreneur climate at the RTP area was discussed.
[32:29] Scot shared with the audience how he balances growth and profitability of Spiffy by using a bottom-up and top-down approach.
The Cold Start Problem: How to Start and Scale Network Effects by Andrew Chen
https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Start-Problem-Andrew-Chen/dp/0062969749
Resources:
https://www.getspiffy.com/
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