Mike Koenigs - A Founder’s Character Is Bigger Than Their Charisma

BIO: Mike Koenigs is a serial entrepreneur with five successful exits, a 19-time bestselling author, and a top strategist for founders post-exit.

STORY: Mike invested big in a SaaS startup set up for success, but infighting brought it to its knees.

LEARNING: Character is bigger than charisma.

 

“If you’re a shareholder, your best exit is for a big company to come and buy what they believe is money at a discount.”

Mike Koenigs

 

Guest profile

Mike Koenigs is a serial entrepreneur with five successful exits, a 19-time bestselling author, and a top strategist for founders post-exit. He helps build powerful personal brands in just one week and pioneers Generative AI for executives, speaking at elite events like Abundance 360, MIT, and Tony Robbins’ gatherings.

Worst investment ever

Mike learned about a SaaS startup from a client with whom he had spent time and had gotten to know, like, and trust him. So, when the client introduced Mike to this deal, he got interested.

The startup looked great, so he invested a substantial amount of money and then doubled down because it got even better.

Off to a promising start

The basic premise was that it was a pool. The founders would find SaaS companies with customers, momentum, technology, and a bit of a moat. They had much experience and success, such as a 10x dividend to investors in three years.

Infighting paralyzes everything

Unfortunately, the two founders started fighting. One of them locked the other one out of everything. They had the majority and equal shareholding, making infighting even worse. The remaining partner started emptying the coffers.

Someone doing the books became a whistleblower and revealed the shenanigans going on. The partner was siphoning off money, building a house, going on big trips, using private jets everywhere, etc. It got uglier and uglier, causing the shareholders to file lawsuits, and the FTC got involved. Years have gone by, and things are still shut down.

Lessons learned

• Time kills deals.
• Character is bigger than charisma. Crooked founders will gut you faster than any market downturn.
• Put all that money into index funds and let it compound.

Andrew’s takeaways

• The only way to invest as an angel investor is to invest in 10 startups. Don’t do it if you are not prepared with the money and time to do that.

Actionable advice

Unless you’re a full-time VC with deal flow, customer channels, or an exit mapped out, keep your money in things you can control. If you’re a shareholder, your best exit is for a big company to come and buy what they believe is money at a discount.

Mike’s recommendations

Mike recommends learning to build a brand that will elevate everything you touch for the rest of your life. He suggests reading his book, Your Next Act: The Six Growth Accelerators for Creating a Business You’ll Love for the Rest of Your Life, to help you build your brand. He also recommends immersing yourself in AI and learning how to use it effectively.

No.1 goal for the next 12 months

Mike’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to become an international citizen. He wants to continue living his beautiful life in multiple locations and working with more entrepreneurs worldwide.

Parting words

 

“Go out and build your brand. You will get access to better deals faster at a discounted price.”