He exited for hundreds of millions—then invested in 20+ founders. Here's what he looks for. | Jason Van Gaal, Founder of ROOT

Jason built a data center company in the 2013. When he exited in 2019, it was the third-largest exit in Canada that year. He'd sold his previous startup and invested 100% of his capital into ROOT. He grew to 10s of millions and exited for 100s of millions.

Now he's invested in over 20 angel-stage startups. He shares the story of ROOT and what he looks for in the startups and founders he backs. 

Why you should listen:

• Why seeing inefficiencies can lead to huge advantages vs competitors.
• How customer concentration can actually lead to a huge success.
• Why the 'Why Now' slide is so important.
• Why Jason values startups can get to free cash flow within 1-2 years.
• How to use the lead to conversation ratio as a leading indicator of PMF. 

Keywords
data centers, investment, entrepreneurship, product market fit, angel investing, business growth, technology, risk management, funding strategies, customer relationships, investment, startup, venture capital, product-market fit, founder advice, business model, cash flow, total addressable market, team dynamics, entrepreneurial hunger

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