UVC: John Zeratsky from Character on the role of design in venture capital, the OATS scorecard, sprint methodology, and gaining an edge in VC through strategic differentiation

In this episode we discuss: 06:00 - The Importance of Design in VC 09:00 - Visionary Founders vs. Hypothesis-Driven Founders 15:00 - Importance of Strategy in VC 22:00 - Sprint Method and Product-Market Fit 26:00 - Hypothesis driven approach - How it can save time and money 28:00 - Introduction to the OATS scorecard system 32:00 - Longitudinal use and comparison of scores 33:00 - Reasons for not investing 39:00 - Challenges of FOMO and saying no 42:00 - Detachment and enthusiasm in investment decisions 47:00 - Name selection process and the significance of "Character" About John Zeratsky is co-founder and general partner at venture-capital firm Character, bestselling author of Sprint and Make Time, and former design partner at GV. Previously, John was a design leader for YouTube, Google Ads, and FeedBurner, which was acquired by Google in 2007.