Capital is cheap. Execution is the bottleneck.
IaaS is the equity-aligned investment arm of the ecosystem — bringing operator-grade execution across marketing, operations and product to a small number of founders each year, in exchange for equity, not fees.
The IaaS node is selectively paused while in-flight ventures get the attention they need. A small waiting list is open for founders who fit the thesis — applications are reviewed personally.
Why founders need execution, not cheques.
Three beliefs underwrite every IaaS engagement. They're not tactics — they're the reason the model exists in the first place.
Most ideas don't die from lack of capital
They die from lack of operator hours. The cheque can't ship the product, write the positioning or close the first ten customers. Capital that doesn't bring those hours is the wrong capital.
Equity is a long-horizon contract
Cheques get spent and forgotten in eighteen months. Equity keeps both sides honest for the next decade — which is the only horizon that actually matches how compounding businesses get built.
Operators back operators
The best help comes from people who've shipped, sold, hired and broken something at the same stage. IaaS is operator capital — not a board seat collecting reports, but a co-builder inside the work.
Three lanes of execution.
Every engagement runs across the same three lanes. The mix shifts venture by venture, but the spine is consistent.
Marketing
Positioning, brand, narrative and growth systems. Moving a venture from invisible to inevitable — and building the channels that earn customers without paying for every one.
Operations
The unglamorous spine. Workflows, SOPs, hiring rhythm, financial visibility and the operating cadence that lets a venture scale without breaking the people inside it.
Tech & Product
From first build to scaled platform. Shipping the thing, then making it durable — with the operator instinct for which features actually compound and which look good on a roadmap and nowhere else.
What earns a slot in the IaaS portfolio.
Three filters decide who gets time. Most enquiries get a polite no — the ones that get a yes get full attention.
A workflow worth owning
There's a real, daily workflow being built or replaced — not a hypothetical market or a deck-stage opportunity. Something I can sit inside and ship from.
Aligned thesis
Education, SaaS, operator-led growth, or adjacent to them. Adjacent enough that lessons from one venture compound into the next instead of starting from zero each time.
Founder I'd back twice
The single biggest filter. Operator instinct, low ego, high follow-through. If I wouldn't back the same person on their next venture too, I won't back them on this one.
The shape of an IaaS deal.
Every engagement is bespoke, but the shape is consistent. No fees, no hourly retainers, no advisory theatre.
Equity, not invoices
Compensation is equity-only, vested over the engagement window. No monthly retainers, no day rates, no shadow consulting fee. Skin in the game — both sides.
Inside the work
I show up as an operator, not an advisor. Inside the docs, the standups, the customer calls. The unit of value is shipped work, not meetings attended.
Multi-year by default
Engagements are scoped in years, not quarters. The model only works on a horizon long enough for the work to compound — anything shorter is the wrong fit for both of us.
Notes on capital, equity and execution.
Investment as a Service, explained
A working definition of IaaS — investing time, expertise and systems instead of cheques — and why it produces better early-stage outcomes.
Building ventures in parallel without losing focus
Multi-venture work isn't about doing more — it's about designing one underlying system that powers many surfaces.
The case for equity-based partnership over consulting
Why aligned incentives produce better outcomes than hourly engagements — and how the partnership model changes everything.
Building something that needs execution, not a cheque?
The waiting list is small and curated. Tell me what you're building, where you're stuck, and what equity you'd be willing to align around. I read every serious application myself.