Why your company’s vision and values are fundemental to your success

I was raising capital for DQ about a year ago, and I came across this rather unusual British billionaire, who liked to invest in VC funds and venture studios.

I pitched our business. The chap I met told me he hadn’t seen anything quite like DQ before, and would like to proceed to the next stage as soon as possible.

After that, crickets.

Strange.

When I followed up with the billionaire for an update, I received a surprisingly aggressive reply.

When I spoke to my partners at DQ, we agreed that our “no d***head policy” was universal. We won’t work with aspiring founders we don’t like; nor should we accept investment from people we don’t like.

Having seen the recent Sifted article about Gloucester Circus, I realise that this policy has potentially saved us some heartache…

I’m very happy we took the time to nail down what our mission, vision and values are. This isn’t window dressing; it’s critical foundational work, which should drive everything in the business.