Investor Viktor Orlovsky reveals his mental model for evaluating founders: he compares new prospects to his "role models" of obsession and leadership. This method of pattern-matching against successful archetypes from his portfolio helps him decide who to back.

Instead of waiting for opportunities, PE firms should develop investment theses in specific sectors. This activity "heats up molecules" by forcing conversations with experts and executives. This proactive research builds a reputation, making the firm the go-to expert and generating inbound deal flow.

The most effective investors deliberately carve out unstructured time for deep thinking and reading. This discipline contrasts with the common early-stage VC tendency to equate a packed calendar with productivity. True investment alpha is generated from unique insights, not just from the volume of meetings taken.

Instead of focusing solely on networking and deal flow sharing, a young investor's true advantage is having more time and fewer obligations. This allows them to conduct deep research, speak directly with buyers, and form a unique, proprietary thesis that goes beyond the surface-level chatter common in venture circles.

Junior investors often seek external validation. A better approach is to study successful investors to build a strong internal instinct for what greatness looks like. Once developed, you must trust this instinct and back your non-consensus ideas with confidence, as seeking consensus or borrowing conviction is a critical mistake in venture.

New investors should prioritize building a network that aligns with their fund's specific investment thesis. Generic networking is inefficient; focus on cultivating relationships with individuals who fit the fund's "ideal customer profile" to generate high-quality deal flow, as 80% of funded deals can come from this source.

Strict investment theses (e.g., "only second-time founders") are merely guidelines. The high volume of meetings required in venture capital provides the essential context and pattern recognition needed to identify exceptional outliers that defy rigid heuristics.

Large tech conferences often foster consensus views, leading VCs to chase the same deals. A better strategy is to attend smaller, niche events specific to an industry (e.g., legal tech). This provides an information advantage and helps develop a unique investment perspective away from the herd.

Most VCs "gather" by networking broadly. QED advocates for "hunting": identifying a single, high-conviction company and relentlessly pursuing an investment. This shifts the mindset from passively waiting for inbound leads to proactively targeting the absolute best opportunities long before a formal fundraise begins.