Building Out Loud #18: Duty
‘Support’ is the not the same as ‘Duty’
In venture capital, we talk a lot about “support.” We talk about networks, operational help, fundraising advice, and talent introductions. But support is not the same as duty. Duty is heavier. Duty doesn’t clock off at 5 p.m. or turn away on weekends. Duty is what takes hold when things get hard.
We can’t just ‘place bets’. We must place (bet) ourselves — right beside the founders, the teams, the mission. When the pressure rises, that’s when duty reveals itself for what it really is: a moral and emotional commitment to do whatever it takes.
Duty Is Not Arms-Length
To live with duty in venture capital means to inhabit the same emotional weather as the company. It’s not just about being accessible — it’s about proximity, immersion, even vulnerability. You place yourself in the same position as what you’re supporting. That may mean being there at 11 p.m. when a founder is about to tell their team they’ve got weeks of runway left. It may mean helping negotiate a hard financing round, or backing a decision you know is reputationally risky — because it’s the right thing to do for the company.
This isn’t occasional heroism. In venture, this is business as usual.
Crisis Reveals the Culture
The moments that test our commitment are also the ones that reveal what kind of investors we really are. When a startup is approaching the end of its runway, the gravity is real. Founders can see the futures of their teams and their missions vanish. Our role isn’t to advise from a safe distance. It’s to stand with them, inside the pressure, helping them navigate through it — or out of it.
That may mean putting our own reputations on the line. It may mean deploying capital we might prefer not to risk. It almost always means dropping everything — calls, meetings, dinners — to be there when it matters. This is not a bug of the work. It is the work.
Duty + Discipline: They Are Not in Conflict
We are also stewards of capital. Our responsibility is to generate returns. But duty does not stand in opposition to discipline. In fact, the two reinforce each other. Duty means being relentless about clarity, alignment, and recommitment. It means asking again and again: what must be true for this company to succeed? And then doing what we can to make it true.
When we operate this way, we build a sharper edge of decision-making. We avoid the drift and distance that often creeps into portfolio relationships. We stay in it — where we’re needed most.
In this market — where capital is harder, timelines are longer, and the hype cycles have cooled — duty is the new differentiator. If you’re an investor:
Don’t just write checks. Write yourself into the work.
Be the first call at midnight, not the last to reply on Monday.
Treat your commitment as an emotional contract, not just a financial one.
Support is table stakes. Duty is what changes outcomes.
If we want to build the future, let’s start by showing up like we mean it.