Mastery Lives in the Arena

#135 - From idea to Series A - Weekly Newsletter

3 Paragraphs to think

Naval recently wrote: books don’t teach mastery—battles do. In entrepreneurship, action beats theory every time. You earn insight by fighting, not by reading. The arena is where skills are forged and reputations built.

I have three addenda: (1) Choose your arena wisely—and once you enter, respect it. Real estate, SaaS, consumer tech, venture—any field has pros and cons. (2) The longer you stay in one domain, the sharper your edge becomes. Survival compounds. Scar tissue turns into competitive advantages. (3) Don’t blame the arena if you lose. The game isn’t rigged—your execution is.

In VC, there are few winners—Index Ventures, Hummingbird VC, for instance—firms with stellar performance. Most others lose in the arena. That’s fine. Don’t leave the arena. Don’t complain. Push harder. Results will come.

---

2 Tweets to pro

1. Keep angel investing simple.

2. “Do I need a haircut?” When no to ask.

---

1 chance to smile

Tony the Tiger from Frosties flexing 🤣

Have a great weekend,

Simone