This week, we announced the closing of our $2.5 million seed round. We are extremely grateful for the investors who participated, including the legendary Chuck Yates, Diamondback Energy, ProFrac, and many other angel investors in the energy industry. (You can read the press release here.)
This is, by far, the toughest market for startups to raise capital in the last 15 years, and I definitely felt it.
I spent the majority of the year putting this deal together, and at times, it felt pretty bleak.
The lowest point was when we suddenly discovered my dad had stage 4 cancer, and I was taking investor calls in the halls of the hospital, trying to make something happen.
While in the hospital with my dad, we had some conversations that really opened my eyes to what is important to me in life.
What’s important to me is building companies that have a material impact on the world.
I think there are a million ways to make money and many good companies you can build to achieve that.
But there are very few ideas that can change the way the world operates.
Now, my filter for analyzing any potential idea is: “If this is successful, what does the world look like?”
That answer needs to be substantial.
This also needs to be paired with the question, “Is anyone else going to do this important work?”
I heard Peter Thiel once say something along the lines of “You don’t want to work on something where 1,000 people will fill your place if you don’t do it.”
That’s why I’m extremely energized by Digital Wildcatters.
I’m not sure if there is anything more important for me to be working on today than this, and no one from Silicon Valley is going to build it—they couldn’t even if they wanted to.
We may not get a lot of love from Silicon Valley or the TechCrunch headlines, but while other startups are busy chasing the latest trends, we’re working hard to solve one of the world’s most pressing challenges.
I don't consider this a burden, but rather a privilege that we have the opportunity to wake up each day and ask ourselves these questions:
“How can we help energy professionals advance their career?”
“How can we help elevate energy companies?”
“How can we provide the platform for the industry to work together to solve the world’s energy crisis?”
”What does the world look like with abundant and affordable energy?”
I deeply believe in the importance of our work at Digital Wildcatters and am always grateful for our community, investors, and team members who share this vision and support our mission.
Let’s power the world.