The Angle: Why the long-term view is the hard but right one

The Angle is a new content series from Antler, featuring perspectives from our team members on the biggest events and trends impacting founders and early-stage investors today. Every article is that person's unique angle on a hot topic—what they see from their vantage point in one of our 25 offices around the globe—not Antler's stance. In our first edition, Jeff Becker draws lessons from the demise of FTX and turbulent tech moments in recent years. This article first appeared in Jeff's Monday Morning Meeting on Substack.

jeff-becker

Jeff Becker

Jeff is a sales leader and investor. Over a nine year run at LinkedIn, Jeff held a series of roles launching new business units and leading sales teams to best-in-company performances as the business grew to 770 million members and $10B in revenue. Separately, Jeff launched his own company, Earhoox, scaling it across the globe. He is also an active angel investor focused on health, wealth, and happiness. Before coming to Antler, he was a General Partner at Forum Ventures, focused on early stage B2B SaaS.

General Partner at Antler, investing in founders in the US. Formerly LinkedIn and Forum Ventures. Author of Monday Morning Meeting.

Everyone is talking about FTX, and while the turbulent tech moments these past few years should have made us more accustomed to the craziness, somehow I think it made us even more myopic.

Here are some things worth revisiting:

  • When we first started working from home, everyone was up in arms. Now no one wants to go back.
  • When Clubhouse took off, we thought social media was changing forever.
  • When NFTs went mainstream and Bored Apes minted millionaires, we thought the future of art, access, and utility had arrived.
  • When we printed obscene amounts of debt to buoy the economy, and everyone was feeling rich, very few took the long-term view on what that would really mean.
  • When Elizabeth Holmes finally went on trial, we assumed there would be greater accountability and diligence going forward.
  • Now, we’ve got companies creating fake coins to bolster balance sheet value, and the money flowing to all kinds of interesting places…

But what’s the point of laying this out?

It’s to remind people that the long-term view is the hard one, but the right one. If we go back, I’ve written about why the move to remote work would ultimately be hybrid regardless of the near-term swings. We covered why Clubhouse was fundamentally interesting and where the flaws were too, before the air was let out of the balloon. We went deep on NFTs to talk about utility and access, likening the more surface-level use cases to gambling. I even opposed the enormity of the debt printing, in favor of short-term (personal) pain in the stock market, and going as far as to share that sentiment in emails to Earhoox customers on why—even though it would never happen—taking PPP loans should be reserved for those truly in need.

Fundamentally, we need to avoid the urge to make a quick buck. I mean sure, play the $1.9B Powerball on Jackpocket (disclosure: I’m an investor), like I did. But we’re talking about gambling tens of dollars there, not tens of billions of dollars like the government and the largest investors in the valley. Like the metaverse for example—the only advancement in civilization that has accrued more investment than the metaverse is the moon landing. And that’s why we wrote about equal and opposite reactions—investing in the real world to balance investments in the digital one.

As interest rates continue to rise, we’re going to see a reprioritization of asset classes, and it’s going to be harder for VCs, particularly emerging managers, to raise from investors. That’s why we need to look at a five-to-10-year arc—probably even longer. We need to focus on fundamentals, and step-changes in technology, not follow bandwagon opinions—at least not with any outsized allocations. That’s why we also need to return to investing in people—the right kinds of people—the ones who focus on long-term problems, leveraging first principles, and optimize for the future over the present.

That is to say, everything finds equilibrium eventually, and as the pendulum swings, it’s important to ask ourselves about the counterforce. To me, right now, it’s interoperability, AI/ML, quantum, longevity (also here), blockchain & cryptography (specifically zero-knowledge proofs & DeFi), personal data, and incentive alignment. Each of these areas have fundamental use cases that stand to better humanity and improve our collective abilities to live better lives and solve the world’s most pressing problems. We won’t make billions overnight, but those overnight wins have proven to be false idols anyway.

For more insights from Jeff Becker, subscribe to Monday Morning Meeting.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Get the latest news and views from Antler’s global community

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Must-read articles from Antler

Browse our collection of founder stories, industry insights and latest startup successes from Antler Australia

See articles
Insights
5 min read
A window into progress: A look inside the world's day zero investor

As we approach the fifth anniversary of our first investments, we are excited to share A Window into Progress, a report that captures the breadth, depth, and impact of Antler’s global community, which continues to grow and strengthen through the downturn.

Founder Stories
5 min read
Carl Prins: The financier on a mission to decarbonize the global economy

Our content series "It All Starts with People" delves into the passions, motivations, and vision of the exceptional founders we have the privilege of partnering with around the world. Read the story of Carl Prins and his personal quest to help avert the climate crisis through Pathzero.

Insights
5 min read
Books every founder should read in 2023

Harry Truman once said: “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” The source of myriad mental and physical benefits, it’s no wonder highly successful entrepreneurs and business leaders frequently credit obsessive reading as instrumental to their outperformance. In honor of UNESCO World Book Day, Antler is excited to share books every founder should read in 2023.

Founder Stories
5 min read
Sarah Hilmy: Inspiring friends and families to discover the world together

“Holidays are a way for you to enrich your own life. It's about going out and experiencing things that you otherwise wouldn't experience in your everyday life, trying new food, meeting new people, and just learning more about the world in a first-hand way.” —Sarah Hilmy, co-founder of travel platform Oddysee.

Insights
5 min read
50 creators to watch in 2023

As the creator economy continues to grow, expand, and evolve, we've curated a list of 50 exciting leaders to watch in this space. Influencers. Journalists. Operators at prominent creator-related platforms. Founders. These are the players—seen and unseen—who underpin the global creator ecosystem.

Founder Stories
5 min read
Sharon Li & Vanessa Chen: Empowering employees to be their healthiest and most productive selves

“People sometimes think the emotional and professional are conflicting, but what we believe is when people love their organization, the emotional value will actually make them productive. It will make them give their full self to the organization and make the organization grow for the long term.” —Sharon Li, co-founder and CEO of CHOYS

Insights
5 min read
The 2023 Creator Economy: A new direction

Our creator economy insights series—starting with our ultimate guide to the creator economy in May 2021—has tracked the explosion of a sector that upended the professional aspirations of the next generation. Today, as uncertainty and macroeconomic challenges pervade, how are creators pivoting and what does it mean for the sector's future?

Founder Stories
5 min read
Piet Hein van Dam: The seasoned data entrepreneur aiming to eradicate type 2 diabetes

Our content series "It All Starts with People" delves into the passions, motivations, and vision of the exceptional founders we have the privilege of partnering with around the world. Bringing a clarity of vision to our latest spotlight is Piet Hein van Dam, co-founder of Clear, the award-winning digital self-help tool for diabetes patients.