I’m a General Partner at Contrary and invest across all stages and sectors.

You can find me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and email. See my notes on startups & venture.

Check out Contrary Research, the only equity research focused on private technology companies, and Startup Search, our startup job-seeking site.

There are several business I would like to incubate. If you’re looking to start a venture-scale company and are in search of cofounders or ideas, please reach out.

Writing

Below are posts I’ve written for my blog or major online publications. If you’re hit with a paywall, contact me and I can send a copy. New posts are now published at notes.willrobbins.org.

Nth Layer Investing a framework for investing with a focus on leading indicators, not lagging ones

First Principles Interviewing how to hire for insight rather than experience by asking the right questions

Opportunities (and challenges) in church tech part two of the church tech TC series

Jesus, SaaS, and Digital Tithing a TechCrunch article about the church tech market

Voodoo Games: Three Narrative Violations my TechCrunch piece about how Voodoo upends recent startup trends

Venture Investing in Eldertech my TechCrunch piece about trends and opportunities in eldertech

Creating Product Stickiness how businesses can become more defensible… out of thin air

Reinventing the Wheel why anti-tech pessimists think the way they do, and how to reverse-engineer that

2019 University Report a ranking and analysis of the top entrepreneurial ecosystems in the US

Analyzing Venture Opportunities Part 2: Thinking About People a list of things to consider when evaluating or pitching a team

Why Ownership Graphs Matter hidden complexity in politics and an interesting idea

Social Spaces on the Internet a handful of trends that will help shape social spaces online

The Paradox of Compound Interest saving and spending when opportunity cost compounds too

Getting Good at Startups general principles on becoming a good founder or investor as a student

3 Questions on Tech Companies a few brief thoughts on moats, successful teams, and evaluating people

Request for Startups a list of companies I’d start in another life

Competition Matters Less in Software what makes tech companies unique?

Senior: My Time at Umbrella some learnings from working at Umbrella

When Insiders Were Outsiders stories of people who hustled and struggled their way to where they are now

Notes on The Elephant in the Brain some context and notes on one of my favorite reads

Concise Ideas are One-Dimensional should we think about nuanced ideas where concision rules?

Worldview as Competitive Advantage do the typical value-add dimensions really matter for most investors?

Degrees of Freedom don’t make your startup’s gameplan needlessly complex

Buying IBM examples of upside/downside asymmetry

Go-To Essays and Books what I like to re-read and recommend

Getting Positive Feedback tips for founders who get really positive feedback in early validation efforts

Psychology in Product and Sales a list of concepts in social psychology with examples

Decision Making and Mental Models a toolkit for thinking more clearly and making better decisions

What Do You Optimize For? balancing serendipity and focus for optimal results

Simpson’s Paradox and Thinking Rationally in Venture Capital how empiricism and pattern recognition can go wrong

Existential Risk and Effective Altruism a primer on a fascinating concept in ethical philosophy

Analyzing Venture Opportunities Part 1: The Product and Market a list of things founders should always touch on when explaining their startup

The Flawed Economics of Robinhood: Why Users Are Better Off Without It the reasons why Robinhood’s business model is misaligned with users’ needs

A Clever Malware Tactic and Why There’s Nothing You Can Do About It how I came across an innovative scam

My App Marketing Story: 0 to 100k Downloads the strategy and tactics I used to successfully publish an Android app



Views expressed in any content, including posts, linked on this website or posted to social media and other platforms are my own and not the views of Contrary LLC or any affiliate. None of the content should be construed or relied upon in any manner as investment, legal, tax, or other advice. You should consult your own advisers as to these matters. Under no circumstances should any posts or content be construed as any offer to provide advisory services or a solicitation of any investment in any security or investment vehicle. Certain information has been obtained from third party sources and has not been independently verified. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. See contrary.com/legal for additional important information.