4 years into Giant: the 10 commandments of our investment philosophy

September 2023 marks four years since the genesis of Giant. It feels both like a lifetime and no time at all, like we’ve come a long way but are also just getting started. Milestones such as these offer an opportunity for reflection.

Over the past four years, we’ve learned so much. We’ve learned the meaning of true partnership with both our founders and our LPs, we’ve learned that the world is a chaotic place and that we should focus on what we can control, we’ve (re)learned the vital importance of hiring exceptional people and developing a special culture in a small team, and we’ve learned that the craft of venture and investing is a never-ending game of mastery.

On this last point, I took some time over the summer to reflect on the Investment Philosophy of Giant. I challenged myself to write down our core beliefs and approaches, which have always been implicit, and make them explicit for our growing team. So, here they are: the “Ten Commandments of Giant’s Investment Philosophy.”

1. Be long-term orientated

Can we imagine holding this investment for 50 years? Can this person and product change the world? Focus on the upside. Dream with the founder about what could be.

Returns compound. Moats compound. The best people compound. So start with exceptional foundations. There are a few important, category-defining companies. Buy quality. Be patient.

2. Think independently & seek truth

Cultivate a lack of distraction. Avoid imitation - of ideas and of other investors. Trust in our own process.

3. Relentlessly hustle

Be restless in your search for exceptional founders. Manufacture serendipity. Compete like Michael Jordan. Embrace paranoia as a Darwinian requirement.

4. Earn the right to be chosen by founders.

Show don’t tell Giant’s value from the first interaction onwards.

5. Believe in product magic + customer wisdom

It starts and ends with the customer and the product. Spend as much time as possible with the product and customers to find insights others will miss.

6. Read widely and observe what’s happening now

Analyse and question the societal tailwinds that will define tomorrow. Zoom in and out from the micro to the macro.

7. Respect maths

Being directionally correct is more important in venture than price but over time, maths matters. Price and ownership are fundamental to our model of investing. Understand unit economics, growth rates, and the fundamentals of finance.

8. Be a psychologist

This is a people business. Delve into the psychological drivers of founders and their teams, deeper than others will go. Companies are growing organisms, forged by personalities and abilities. Don’t compromise on integrity.

9. Tilt the scale

Bend reality towards our companies. We can help on the margins and sometimes that makes all the difference. We owe it to our founders.

10. Be alert to mismatches in risk/reward

Mismatches are everywhere: embedded in bias, groupthink, cultural assumptions, information asymmetries, bubbles, etc. That is our opportunity.

These commandments are a work in progress. We reserve the right to evolve them! As we continue to grow, we’ll undoubtedly add and subtract - this is what we’ve articulated for now as our guiding principles.

We began in my apartment kitchen with a simple idea: this decade’s most important companies would be built by solving the most important environmental and societal problems. Since launch, we've partnered with ~50 exceptional entrepreneurs across ~10 countries tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges from cancer diagnostics to the future of energy. Our diverse, international team now spans London, Copenhagen, Stockholm, New York, and California. We’ve raised hundreds of millions of dollars from top-tier institutional LPs, CEOs of major corporations, and leading technology founders.

Among its peers, our first flagship seed fund is in the top quartile of funds globally. We’ve backed iconic pre-IPO companies such as Calm and Ada, consistently won competitive rounds from Seed to Series B on both sides of the Atlantic, earned the right to partner with ten unicorn founders for their next companies, incubated three companies that have taken flight, and seeded “soonicorns” such as Doccla and Agreena that are set to transform climate and healthcare.

It takes a village to launch a venture firm. It has been an incredible journey thus far: thank you for taking it with us. We’re immensely grateful to the entrepreneurs and investors who’ve placed their trust in us - we could not have made this progress without you. Our mission remains to build the leading investment firm that builds and backs companies creating a more sustainable, healthy, and equitable world. We look forward to decades of partnership as we build Giant into a global engine for purpose-driven value creation and innovation. Here’s to the next four years.