In this episode of the Ignite podcast, Brian interviews Cam Doody from Brickyard. Doody, a former operator and co-founder of Bellhop, shares his journey from operating a tech-enabled moving company to becoming a venture investor with Brickyard. The discussion delves into the success of Lamp Post, a venture firm where investments required relocation to Chattanooga, which Doody attributes to a supportive, competitive environment among founders.
Doody discusses Brickyard's unique approach as a residency venture firm focused on guiding startups through the "trough of sorrow" toward a Series A round. He emphasizes the importance of radical focus, extreme work hours, and a supportive community for startups. Brickyard's investment philosophy is founder-centric, looking for "junkyard dogs" who are all-in on their venture, willing to make significant sacrifices, and put in long hours to achieve product-market fit.
Doody notes the shift in founder culture over the last decade, now more status-driven and less gritty, which Brickyard aims to counteract by selecting founders who are determined to grind through challenges. He candidly shares that 80-90% of founders might be in the venture space for the wrong reasons, underscoring the hard reality of founding a company.
Brickyard's selection process is stringent, with a strong focus on founders' willingness to commit to their stringent requirements, including relocation and intense work ethic. The fund is structured to provide founders with a stake in each other's success, incentivizing a collective push towards growth and Series A funding.
Doody also highlights the sacrifices required to be a founder, suggesting that successful founders can only focus on two of the five F's: faith, family, finances, fitness, and future, with finances (their business) being a given. The conversation touches on the potential impact of AI on business and the importance of keeping a human grit and determination in the venture space.
Brickyard's process involves vetting through in-person interactions, and despite the tough, no-nonsense talk, there is a sense of pride and camaraderie among the Brickyard teams. The fund plans to invest in 35-40 companies over about three and a half years, emphasizing the importance of execution over ideas in startups.
Finally, Doody explains Chattanooga's unique position as an innovation hub, likening it to Boulder or Austin from years past, with a strong sense of community, access to outdoors, and forward-thinking initiatives such as municipal fiber and efforts to bring a quantum computer to the city. He invites listeners to visit Brickyard and emphasizes that cold inbound pitches are welcome, with the best way to connect being through a referral from one of their existing teams or directly via their website.
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