2021 Summer Reading List
Lifetime of Learning
We really enjoy this edition of book recommendations from our portfolio companies leaders and our team. It opens up our thinking, and it shows that the best leaders are lifetime learners. We are always impressed by the speed of response to the request - guess what? The companies that are doing the very best answer the question quicker than others. It is a classic example of why some people succeed - they are curious and get stuff done.
Dave and I often discuss what we are curious about in the world. Sometimes it's activities like travel or managing large families, but most of the time it's about businesses. What makes them tick? Why does one you have never heard of pop up and become wildly successful? Why did another not make it even with a great founding team? This forms one of our ways of learning about early-stage investing and what it takes to be successful.
We concluded that there is little luck in being in the right place at the right time. But more importantly, the team has the insight to recognize a trend and take advantage of it. There are two models of success we see a great deal of in our work. Those who copy a core idea from one industry and bring it to another or create an incrementally better product/service etc., for their company.
The bigger winners create new markets where none existed before. They can see a need for what they are building that another business has not filled or does not even see. We would not say the founders are visionaries, although sometimes they are such people. Most of the time, they are singular in their focus on molding and shaping a market into life to fit the tech they are building. Dave did this with Vestmark back in the day, and we currently see it in several of our startups.
It starts with a founder and team who are open to learning and relentless about execution while being driven by a core idea. They are great fun to work within our roles as venture capitalists, and we have much to learn from them.
— Mark & Dave
Vestigo in the News
Mark Casady Interviewed by CityWire
In this article, Mark speaks about his experience in early-stage venture capital investing and finding the next "big" idea in wealthtech.
Envisions Interview
For Your Summer Reading List
w/ Zachary Karabell, Author and LP at Vestigo Ventures
Summer Reading Recommendations
At Vestigo Ventures, we believe that reading is crucial to grow, learn, and fuel creativity, whether for business or personal reasons. This Summer, we asked a few of our incredible founders for their top book recommendations for our monthly newsletter. Below we display the wide variety of book titles and hope you can add one to your reading list for this Summer!
Giri Addanki, Founder / CEO @ Acorn Finance
Business Recommendations:
- Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam Grant
- This Is Marketing by Seth Godin
- Flip the Script by Oren Klaff
David Potter, Co-Founder / CEO @ Curu
Business Recommendations:
- Deep Work by Cal Newport
- Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
Sohaib Zahid, Co-Founder / CEO @ Railz
Fiction Recommendations:
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Non-Fiction Recommendations:
- Presidents of War by Michael Beschloss
- Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari
Derek Manuge, Co-Founder / CTO @ Railz
Business Recommendations:
- The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
- Tools of Titans by Timothy Ferriss
Non-Fiction Recommendations:
- Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis
Chaz Perera, Co-Founder / CEO @ Roots Automation
Business Recommendations:
- Good to Great by James Collins
AI/Machine Learning Recommendations:
- You Look Like a Thing, and I Love You by Janelle Shane
- Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom
John Lunny, Founder / CEO @ Vestmark
Business Recommendations:
- Working Backwards by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr
Pat Larsen, Co-Founder / CEO @ ZenLedger
Business Recommendations:
- High Growth Handbook by Elad Gil
We hope you find one (or a few) books to add to your reading list!
- The Vestigo Team
On the Road Again
My first business trip post-COVID came in July to NYC. The city is coming back-not its old crazy self, but clearly, there are good signs of returning businesses and tourists to the area.
While in NYC, I was able to spend time with four of our portfolio companies. I went to the first post-A round board meeting for Wagmo with Christie Horvath, and Ali Foxworth in their attorney's offices as their new space is not ready yet. I had breakfast with Craig Welch of Kingfield, who has been receiving great traction. We had a great catch-up that felt like only yesterday since we last saw each other. Amazing how time flies. Both companies are doing very well with clear market product acceptance and pricing validation.
I was able to visit the offices of Alloy and visit with Tommy Nicolas, the founder & CEO, as well as Edwina Johnson, COO, and recently hired Kiran Hebbar, the CFO. I thought you would enjoy seeing the new space they just moved into from their tiny Chinatown location (See below!).
Awe-inspiring team building a great business that had its series B funding about a year ago. They are our best performing company for Fund I thus far.
The final company I had the pleasure of visiting was Retirable, which we invested in about a year ago for their seed round. Tyler End, Ian Yamey, and Brian Rameriez, the CEO, CTO, and CMO, respectively, were all working hard to get to product-market fit in their new offices. It’s an exciting time in their history as they start to see a path to drive growth.
The energy in the office was palpable, and I hope you enjoyed getting an inside look into some of our great founders.
- Mark Casady
Portfolio Updates
ZenLedger Raises $6 Million Series A Round
We are excited to announce that ZenLedger has closed a $6 million Series A round led by Bloccelerate VC. ZenLedger is in a great position as one of the leading cryptocurrency tax software and blockchain analytics startup, and we are looking forward to their continued success.
ZenLedger
Alloy Reinventing Work for a Post-COVID World
In this BusinessInsider article, it is great to see Alloy mentioned as one of the top companies reinventing the workplace.
Aki ItoRailz Featured by the Venture Center
It is great to see Derek Manuge, co-founder and CTO of Railz, discuss his journey up to the founding of Railz and some of the key lessons he has learned over his impressive professional career.
Micah
Wagmo at the Center of the Growing Pet Insurance Industry
This article discusses the growing pet insurance industry and how insurers like Wagmo are positioned perfectly with their advanced technological stack.
Kaitlyn Mattson
Interesting Reads
Gregg Adkin
Karen Hao
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