Mitchell Green is the co-founder and managing partner of Lead Edge Capital, a $9B growth equity firm he founded in 2011. For 15 years, he and his partners have built one of the most disciplined investment machines in the business, designed to deliver consistent returns by hitting doubles and triples rather than chasing power law outcomes. He obsesses over avoiding zeros and is constantly underwriting investments to know exactly when to sell. He has built a unique culture at Lead Edge, sending handwritten thank you notes to nearly everyone he meets and sitting down one on one with every person at the firm once a year. He is, by his own admission, one of the most persistent and competitive people you will meet. After the episode, he told me he believes the most important thing in life is to be memorable. You will find, listening to this conversation, that he very much is. We discuss: - Why it’s the best time to buy public software companies - Lessons from 10,000 cold calls - His unique LP base - Why consistency of returns matters more than home runs - The art of knowing when to sell - How culture is built from the top + the importance of follow-through - What skiing taught him about risk and competition Enjoy! Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:00 The Hierarchy of BS 2:20 Lessons From 10,000 Cold Calls 9:05 Base Hits vs. Grand Slams 15:24 The 8 Buying Criteria 17:24 Pricing and the AI Exit Multiple Trap 19:24 Software as a Game of Distribution 23:20 Creative Deal Structuring 26:27 The Framework for Focus 29:01 The Art of the Investigative Cold Call 34:24 Culture of Hustle 35:34 The Annual One-on-One Process 37:59 Playing to Strengths 39:43 The Mount Rushmore of Investment Machines 42:05 Fears and Excitement Around AI 48:54 Ski Racing 52:29 Advice for Starting a Firm 54:35 The Kindest Thing
