How I became my own VC and you can too.
My VC qualifications: None
Capital 5 years ago: None
Track Record 5 years ago: Worked with a few cool companies
With that said, there was no hack, and this is how anyone can do it:
1) Prepare
Prepare to fail & move on, which you're not trained to do from a young age. Moving on is very important
2) Build
For 3 years (2017-2020), I built and grew products for others, and learnt what the best of the best did, at no expense.
This was by running a dev agency for me, for you - this can be your job
3) Time
When it's your own money, you don't spend it on parties (#adamneumann). Timebox everything, specific goals, achievable targets.
If you can't get to this, then move on from the idea.
4) Don't Fail
Counter to the first point, don't get used to failing, get used to learning. The goal is to learn and move on ASAP
5) Compound
Leverage your experience. If you have 1 business that ticks off, hire others and fire yourself. Focus on leveraging the momentum of business 1 for business 2.
My VC qualifications: None
Track Record: 1 Exit
This is how we took smartlead.ai to 6,000 accounts in 2 months within an extremely crowded space. By leveraging SmartWriter.ai
For sure, sometimes it can be easy to settle. But if you live by the mindset that there's also someone better than you... It makes sense that you should step away, at some point, from the business in terms of firing yourself.
But at what point do you do that? And how removed do you become (passive/active management)? What happens if the company begins to falter when you leave? If you truly believe you could build it into something bigger - do you just pet that fail or continue to push it?
I think in general, it's usually a good idea to step away from the business once it reaches a certain level of success, so that you can focus on other projects or pursuits. Additionally, it's important to make sure that the company is in good hands before you leave, so that it can continue to thrive in your absence.