I invest in operators.
Not just companies.
Personal capital at pre-seed and seed, with hands-on GTM expertise as the real value-add. Here is how I think about backing founders and what I look for before I say yes.
The capital is personal.
The value-add is institutional.
I invest my own money as an individual, not through a fund. Hyde & Larkin is my consulting and ventures firm, and it's also the GTM platform I bring to every deal. When I back a founder, they get access to that: positioning, launch strategy, sales enablement, messaging. Not as a service. As a genuine partner who has done it before.
Most investors have never launched a product. I have. That difference is the entire point.
All four. Not three out of four.
The criteria are deliberately narrow. I'd rather pass on a good deal than stretch the framework for a deal that doesn't fit.
Exceptional Founding Team
Domain experts who have lived the problem. Founders with a credible right-to-win and a proprietary angle — relationships, data, technical depth, or distribution. Character and coachability matter as much as capability.
Defensible Moat
Doesn't have to exist at day one. But the thesis for how it develops has to be coherent. Network effects, switching costs, proprietary data, embedded workflows. Something that makes the business harder to copy as it scales.
Massive TAM
I invest for venture-scale outcomes. The market has to be large enough to matter, typically $1B or greater. Strong businesses in small markets can be great lifestyle companies. They are not the right fit here.
Path to Early Cash Flow
The one that filters out most deals. Capital-efficient businesses that can generate revenue early signal business model health. Founders who think about reducing dependence on outside capital make better operators.
Sectors where I have
a real edge.
I only invest where I have a genuine informational or relational advantage. That means sectors where I understand the competitive dynamics, the buyer psychology, and the GTM motion from the inside.
Most investors have never
launched a product.
That is not a criticism. It is just a different skill set. The things that make a great fund manager are not the same things that help a founder nail their ICP, build their first sales motion, or position against a well-funded competitor. I have done all of that. That experience travels with every investment I make.
The fences matter
as much as the criteria.
Back founders who can't demonstrate domain authority in their space. Chase momentum without business model clarity underneath it. Invest in companies that require institutional scale capital just to reach viability. Take on governance burdens I can't fulfill while running my consulting practice and day job.
The portfolio will be built on concentration, not diversification. Fewer bets, higher conviction. I invest when the right opportunity shows up, not because the calendar says I should.
The best investments I'll make are into founders who don't need my money, but who choose to have me on their cap table because of what I bring beyond it.
The StandardWant the full thesis?
If you're a founder evaluating whether we're a fit, or an operator curious about how I think, reach out and I'll send the complete document.