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  1. The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
  2. Investor Stories 427. Balancing Growth with Profitability, Why the Customer’s Pain Matters Most, and Lessons from Film Financing to Supply Chain (Jiang, Ruscio, Niehenke)
Investor Stories 427. Balancing Growth with Profitability, Why the Customer’s Pain Matters Most, and Lessons from Film Financing to Supply Chain (Jiang, Ruscio, Niehenke)

Investor Stories 427. Balancing Growth with Profitability, Why the Customer’s Pain Matters Most, and Lessons from Film Financing to Supply Chain (Jiang, Ruscio, Niehenke)

The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified · Sep 15, 2025

VCs from Mangusta, HeavyBet, and Scale reveal how their investment playbooks evolved, stressing customer pain over tech and universal business truths.

Technologist Founders Must Accept Customers Don't Care About Elegant Code

An investor with a technology background shares his 'bitter lesson': customer obsession trumps technical perfection. The efficiency or beauty of the underlying code is irrelevant to users. All that matters is whether the product solves a significant pain point and how well that solution is communicated.

Investor Stories 427. Balancing Growth with Profitability, Why the Customer’s Pain Matters Most, and Lessons from Film Financing to Supply Chain (Jiang, Ruscio, Niehenke) thumbnail

Investor Stories 427. Balancing Growth with Profitability, Why the Customer’s Pain Matters Most, and Lessons from Film Financing to Supply Chain (Jiang, Ruscio, Niehenke)

The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified·5 months ago

Investor Alex Nihanky Finds Universal Business Patterns in Industries from Film to Construction

An investor's career journey from 'cool' industries like film financing to 'boring' ones like construction software reveals a core truth: the fundamental principles of building a business are consistent across all sectors. Passion for innovation and business models, not industry hype, uncovers the best opportunities.

Investor Stories 427. Balancing Growth with Profitability, Why the Customer’s Pain Matters Most, and Lessons from Film Financing to Supply Chain (Jiang, Ruscio, Niehenke) thumbnail

Investor Stories 427. Balancing Growth with Profitability, Why the Customer’s Pain Matters Most, and Lessons from Film Financing to Supply Chain (Jiang, Ruscio, Niehenke)

The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified·5 months ago

Customer Feedback 'Not a Priority Now' Is a Startup Death Knell, Not a Delayed 'Yes'

Investors warn that when potential customers delay adoption because your product isn't a top priority, it's a major red flag. This feedback almost always means 'never' and signals a fundamental lack of product-market fit, suggesting you are solving a 'nice-to-have' problem, not a 'must-have' one.

Investor Stories 427. Balancing Growth with Profitability, Why the Customer’s Pain Matters Most, and Lessons from Film Financing to Supply Chain (Jiang, Ruscio, Niehenke) thumbnail

Investor Stories 427. Balancing Growth with Profitability, Why the Customer’s Pain Matters Most, and Lessons from Film Financing to Supply Chain (Jiang, Ruscio, Niehenke)

The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified·5 months ago