We bring the best out in people through ideas and action. We take startup products to market and build revenue.
Freedom
Revolve Ventures started out of a need for freedom: to determine our own course, follow curiosity where it may go, and apply our strengths as we see fit. It also provides the flexibility to work on projects that don’t make money, like writing, music and activism.
Responsibility
At the beginning of my career, I started working for startups but struggled. I found myself blaming others or unprepared because I was faking it, taking responsibility for tasks that weren’t mine (read: being a control freak) or the fundamentals of the business were broken. I blamed others, but ultimately it was on me.
Being a “founder” requires me to take responsibility for myself and my mission every morning. I have to take the good with the bad and be creative in using what is in front of me.
Justice
Personal freedom is not an end itself, but a crucial pre-requisite. My mission is to make us all more free; to develop and unleash assets that make us all better off—and startups have a unique role in that.
I got into startups by accident. I moved to DC after graduating college to focus on public policy. I took an unpaid internship at a big think tank to work on food security policy in developing countries. I had a hard time seeing my path forward, paying bills and seeing how the institution I worked for actually impacted issues I cared about. I stuck it out, but picked up temp work at a renewable energy startup. I quickly saw what four people in a room could accomplish, while making a living too. I haven’t looked back.
Strength
There’s meaning in the cliche, “we all have strengths and weaknesses.” At a personal and business level, spending resources to cover weaknesses deliver less returns, while doubling down on strengths leads to growth.
My strength is balancing thought and action. Ideas are great, but without action there is a crucial feedback loop missing and…no action. Action without strategy usually leads to missed opportunities at growth. Revolve Ventures does both.
“Revolve Ventures” is a concatenation: “revolve” to consider something repeatedly and from different angles; and “venture” to dare to do something or go somewhere that may be dangerous or unpleasant.
R/EVS: Revolve Emergent Venture Services
Having worked with a variety of startups across different verticals, I see that a common challenge is that startup founders are often technical or product oriented, not sales or marketing focused. Their strengths are essential, but so are growth-oriented skills. Sales, marketing, business development and strategy provide revenue to the business, while providing critical market and product feedback. Done in a strategic fashion, growth-focused activities help to make better products.
We don’t have to do it alone and consulting allows me to make those strengths available to others. We can collaborate, learn from each other and make better products that make us all more free.