Capital is abundant. Judgment is scarce. The five traits we underwrite in the leaders we back — and the flags that end a conversation.
We partner with management teams for years, often decades. That makes the assessment of people the highest-stakes underwriting we do.
We look for evidence, not charisma: a record of doing what was said; candour about failures; command of the numbers without a finance team in the room; obsession with customers rather than competitors; and the security to hire people better than themselves.
The disqualifiers are equally consistent — blame that always travels outward, growth stories that outrun unit economics, and any comfort with cutting corners when no one is watching. Character revealed in small decisions predicts conduct in large ones.