Never Leave Snow to Find Snow

The author finding snow on the VPG Snowcat, Vail Pass, Colorado. Photo by Topher Donahue.

People who hire professional mountain guides to take them skiing in the mountains spend a lot of time and money getting there. When they arrive at their destination, they expect to find good snow.

No one knows their terrain better than a local ski guide and no one can find better snow at any time of the winter season. For both safety and quality, hiring a local ski guide is the best investment you can make on an expensive ski holiday.

Ben Bartosz is a talented ski guide and an expert on the Vail Pass terrain, between Vail and Copper Mountain in the Central Mountains of Colorado. Ben and his wife, Jenna, have operated the Vail Powder Guides Snowcat for more than a decade. We do a lot of skiing with Ben and Jenna, and the VPG Cat is a favorite among Boulder Ventures investors, entrepreneurs and fellow VCs.

While I’m impressed with Ben’s ability to find the best conditions amidst his vast tenure, once he gets to the right aspect and elevation of any given tour, Ben is excellent at keeping the groups skiing on that ideal piece of real estate.

“Never leave snow to find snow,” he says.

Successful venture capitalists do the same thing. It takes a long time and a lot of laps to find the right terrain and the right clients but, once we do, good returns owe more to execution than chance.

Some VCs intensively mine their geography for great entrepreneurs and then spend all of their time cultivating an authentic relationship with these deal magnets. Others focus on a vertical technology market, accumulating wisdom and investing in the best ideas across the hype cycle.

With consistent devotion to the craft through time, the odds favor the likelihood of a big winner. Once an experienced VC has found her market or geographic sweet spot, and demonstrated an exceptional outcome or two, limited partners flock to them.

When you’ve found the soft turns, don’t leave. Ben and Jenna have taught us that it’s better to keep skiing right there.