Doug Doan

Key Quotes

“All day, every day. Consistency counts.”

“This is not a story about unicorns, but rather, the undervalued high potential characteristics of ‘woodpecker entrepreneurs… The most important quality of an entrepreneur is capacity for long, hard work and a ‘never quit’ attitude. No creature works harder than a woodpecker, which is known to peck at a tree 12,000 times a day. That kind of devotion and persistence can lead to success. The woodpecker, unlike many others, does not depend on the continued generosity of Samaritans who keep backyard feeders full for easy access. They are self-reliant and are happy to work hard for it, banging away at even the mightiest oaks.”

“As an Army guy, I am not surprised at all that it takes a mud Marine with combat experience to get the laundry done… This guy has what it takes to get this company up and spinning. We stand behind him and his vision for the future of the industry.”

We bet on the jockey, not the horse. We look for “woodpeckers” – the people who get up at 3 AM, bang away 20,000 times a day and don’t give up. These people are relentless; their refuse-to-quit mindset is essential to what we look for in entrepreneurs.
Being relentless and adaptive is a combat multiplier. Very few of our successful companies are doing exactly what they had initially pitched to us, but their determination and ability to pivot got them to where they are today.
Be like Cortez – burn the ships! Nothing happens until you commit – if you’re full-time on another job, you’re not full-time on your idea. Take a jump!
The bad news for grads: our venture funding numbers are abysmal. Stanford graduates are the most likely to get funded by a long shot, followed by MIT, Harvard, etc. We are below Slippery Rock University; that’s how undervalued our young grads are. I’m on a mission to change that.
A great day is when one of our entrepreneurs say, “I knew you wouldn’t like my idea, but let me tell you why I’m going to do it anyway.” You’re the commander, we’re the staff; we say, “roger that, boss – we’re with you every step of the way.”

"Not all vets are heroes either (though some are). They come from every state and from the full spectrum of American life. They hold a wide range of political views, come from every religion, every race, color and creed. What matters is that veterans have committed to a mission much greater than self. Veterans learned to rely on each other, embrace the differences and harness the full range of talents, while developing mutual trust and respect."

Career