Courtney Reum

AI Summary

→ WHAT IT COVERS Courtney Reum, co-founder of venture firm M13 and former Goldman Sachs banker, covers how he evaluates founders and deals, why most "AI companies" aren't actually AI companies, his 44% average annual IRR over 12 years, and how his investment strategy is shifting post-marriage toward diversification and capital preservation. → KEY INSIGHTS - **Founder evaluation framework:** Reum prioritizes self-awareness over bravado when assessing founders. He specifically looks for candidates who can articulate what they are not good at, then demonstrate they are actively hiring to fill those gaps — treating company-building like assembling a presidential cabinet rather than relying on a single high-energy, break-things personality. - **AI company red flag:** When a founder labels their startup an "AI company," Reum immediately tests whether they are actually a data company first. Many pitching companies lack meaningful proprietary data and have no clear methodology for using it — making the AI label a liability signal rather than a value signal during early-stage evaluation. - **Outreach persistence strategy:** Cold emails to VCs now exceed 100 per day at M13, making inbox-based outreach nearly ineffective. Reum recommends finding a mutual connection or using a novel, tangible contact method — his analog example: weekly FedEx deliveries that forced decision-makers to personally open mail until a meeting was granted. - **Barbell wealth-building approach:** For roughly 20 years, Reum and his brother held 90% of capital in illiquid private investments and 10% in liquid reserves — enough to rebuild if everything failed. This high-risk concentration strategy produced a 44% average annual IRR over 12 years, demonstrating the compounding power of asymmetric, long-horizon private market exposure. - **Portfolio evolution at wealth inflection points:** Reum is actively shifting from a 44% IRR target toward low-teens returns with lower risk, adding real estate through trusted partners rather than self-educating. He frames this as a deliberate recalibration — the risk tolerance required to build wealth differs from the risk tolerance needed to preserve and grow it. → NOTABLE MOMENT Reum revealed that M13 passed on a fantasy sports betting app as a firm, but he personally invested $100,000. Three years later, that position marked up 19x — a concrete example of how individual conviction can diverge productively from institutional consensus. 💼 SPONSORS None detected 🏷️ Venture Capital, AI Investing, Founder Pitching, Wealth Building, Portfolio Diversification