Our Values

Color Outside the Lines

Key themes: Creativity. Challenge. Freedom.

How we think: We aim to push ourselves beyond the norm. We operate with high agency which delivers results. And we reward results with creative freedom. This gives us the latitude to solve problems imaginatively. We’re not afraid to break things in the pursuit of becoming better at our craft. We ask ourselves how we can improve. We stress-test and stretch our own ideas, beliefs and frameworks, as well as other people’s.

How we act: We experiment with and adopt new tech like LLMs and AI tools so we can constantly optimize. But it’s not just about our productivity - we re-evaluate our processes to improve the performance of each new fund. New topics are interrogated in depth, so we can make an informed call on whether our opinions are on point.

How we speak: With imagination and energy.

Win and Lose as a Team

Key themes: Collaboration. Encouragement. Openness.

How we think: We bring low ego and high self awareness into our team dynamic. Staying accountable for the part we all play. We’re building a team of diverse perspectives, different skills and shared values. Our learning culture creates the space for us to solve problems together.

How we act: Our default MO is non-hierarchical collaboration. Leaning into our belief that VC is best learned by apprenticeship, we coach new starters day by day rather than adopting the antiquated practice of annual reviews. No one owns a deal which means everyone owns the deal. We park our egos at the door and are prepared to seek the truth. We reflect all of this in our approach to carry. There’s no deal attribution or deal by deal carry. We all benefit from our collective outcomes.

How we speak: With transparency and humility.

Bias to Action

Key themes: Execution. Efficiency. Results-orientation.

How we think: We aim to be intentional. Planning purposeful actions with clear outcomes in mind. We maintain objectivity through data-informed decisions and scale systematically through process. If we do something more than once, we automate it. That’s how knowledge scales and how we get to action faster. Working at Dynamo should be an apprenticeship in venture. And building processes means we can upskill and upscale everyone across the team. We’re always considering how to ramp efficiency and record expertise so we can get shit done. Well.

How we act: Everything has a home on Notion (until we decide to replace Notion with something better…). Every process is outlined and every task is understood so anyone in the team can step in and crack on. We structure our week to spend time with each other and our portfolio because we know routines deliver results. We share our investment process and memos with our companies so we can be held accountable for our actions. At seed, we’re backing performance over potential so we don't spend our lives in spreadsheets. But where we can find data, for example on a TAM, we use it to validate and test our assumptions.

How we speak: With precision and momentum.

Strong Opinions, Curious Minds

Key themes:  Curiosity. Debate. Conviction.

How we think: We optimize for constant learning and growth. Staying paranoid by questioning the status quo. Everyone is opinionated, but we hold our strong opinions loosely. Because venture and tech change constantly, we need to keep evolving too. 

How we act: An atmosphere of psychological safety is the key to healthy debate. So we cultivate an environment where we can all vulnerably express our views. We keep our eyes, ears and minds open to ideas, perspectives and feedback. We agitate, argue and then align on the best idea, wherever it comes from. We question what makes us special so we can maintain a competitive edge. We avoid taking the easy way out because assumptions breed mistakes.

How we speak: With clarity and confidence.

Build Through Trust, Not Transactions

Key theme: Relationships. Empathy. Honesty.

How we think: We prioritize long-term relationships over short-term gain. Because we’re in it for the long haul - with our founders, our LPs and each other. We want to deliver a high quality customer experience for all our stakeholders. Our goal is to make every interaction authentic through EQ as well as IQ. So we bring ideas, patience and encouragement into challenging situations. All the founders we've backed are part of the Dynamo collective even if they're no longer part of their business.

How we act: We commit to objectivity and honesty in every exchange. We stack rank the portfolio every month with the goal of taking our bottom third to the middle, and our middle third to the top. We’re available and accessible on all channels. When the going gets tough, we’re on call for founders, giving them the advice that’s best for them, even if it’s not best for us. It’s not just about our customers (founders), and shareholders (LPs), though. We regularly share deals (the Clay list) with our co-investors and competitors to create close industry collaboration.

How we speak: With integrity and respect.