We usually see the best part, but not the journey behind it

Any investor can find themselves in this situation

Yesterday I had a call with a VC investor, and they were one of the first to invest in ByteDance. "It's probably our best investment," he said

Sounds impressive - and yeah, it's the kind of story everyone wants to hear, the kind that inspires people

But as we kept talking, I realized that behind that one bet were many other attempts that usually stay behind the curtain - and those aren't nearly as interesting to the public

His fund has invested in over 150 companies, but everyone only talks about ByteDance. Most people don't even know they've made that many investments, or how many of them turned out to be failures

On one hand, it's inspiring. But on the other hand, I think it's important to stay level-headed and recognize that this wasn't an easy path - and that's exactly what allows you to stay on the road longer, because it's a great example that takes off the rose-colored glasses