The Diligent Observer Podcast Episode 51: "Obsess Over Founder DNA" | Denver Ventures Co-Founder Amy Brandenburg on Founder Assessment Methods, Angel Community Scaling Strategies, and Portfolio Discipline
Today's episode explores three ideas that caught my attention:
- Angel investment dollar-cost averaging - The vintage year matters, and Amy's comments got me thinking about how traditional finance concepts like DCA can be applied effectively in the angel investing world.
- Curation creates commitment - Amy's insight that showing fewer, highly-vetted deals can increase member engagement challenges a common assumption I see in the angel space that more deal flow equals more value.
- The founder is everything - Amy's collaboration with clinical psychologist Marty Dubin to systematically assess founder DNA made me think about how tempting (at least, at the pre-seed and seed stage) it is to focus on evaluate a business when we really should be evaluating the person.
I explore these ideas and more with Amy Brandenburg, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Denver Ventures Seed Fund, which has grown from an informal angel group to managing $65M+ AUM in just five years. Amy brings an iterative mindset thanks to her time at GitLab, as well as a distinctive focus on "founder DNA", collaborating with clinical psychologist and serial entrepreneur Marty Dubin to develop proprietary psychological evaluation methods that go beyond traditional due diligence in early-stage investing.
During our conversation, Amy shares:
- Member activation strategies that helped Denver Ventures grow from informal group to 850+ investors including why partner skin-in-the-game was crucial for credibility.
- Lessons from GitLab's asynchronous culture including the "no agenda, no meeting" rule and iteration-over-perfection mindset that shaped her leadership approach.
- Why Colorado's 20-year ecosystem building strategy succeeded where others failed and how coastal capital migration during COVID accelerated regional growth opportunities.
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All opinions are personal and may not reflect the views of The Diligent Observer. Not investment advice.