Growth Strategies for Founders and Family Offices | Richard C. Wilson
At a Family Office Club event, Richard C. Wilson gives a talk on growth strategies to an audience of investors and business leaders.
Richard C. Wilson explains how he thinks about growth for founders, capital raisers, and family offices. He connects business progress to choices about attention, learning, relationships, and execution. The video moves from operating principles to ways of working with investors, with Wilson drawing on his business experience and ideas he has collected from other entrepreneurs.
In this video: Richard C. Wilson (Founder of Family Office Club)
What they said
- Choosing an investment thesis. Richard says family offices help people focus on one or two investment theses. He recommends shaping a game around an area where a person has relevant experience and can track progress. (at 0:56)
- Comparing new opportunities. Richard says growth can mean declining opportunities that once seemed worthwhile. He suggests comparing a new option with the stronger opportunities already in hand. (at 1:53)
- Understanding how successful people think. Richard says it can be more useful to understand how successful people think than to copy their actions. The right action can vary with the circumstances and timing. (at 3:45)
- AI changes team size. Richard says companies with a billion dollars plus in revenue can operate with 5 to 15 employees. He adds that AI can speed up research and software work. (at 5:08)
- Concise investor materials. Richard recommends preparing a one-liner, a one-pager, and a one-minute video. He says investor materials should be compelling and direct. (at 16:14)
In their words
"Every time you take an action you get feedback."
"If you're way too serious and intense, then maybe nobody wants to be part of the cap table"
Why it matters if you are building or preserving great wealth
Richard says he offered to work for free after businesses in Portland wouldn't give him a job, and one person gave him a chance. His example connects taking repeated action with finding an opening when the usual route stalls. A founder can use the response to each attempt to decide what to try next.
From Richard's exclusive Billionaires.com interviews
Lessons from Richard C. Wilson's one-on-one interviews, as published on each interview page.
- Anu Aga: Focus on one main cause. Her family found its giving more satisfying and impactful once it chose primary education for the underprivileged in India.
- Binod K. Chaudhary: Never chase a deal out of desperation. Stay cool and look at every part of the deal. Have your advisers and your finance team review it critically. Your counsel should review it too.
- Larry Connor: Learn from every mistake. Larry's team owns its failures and makes no excuses. They learn, change quickly, and keep getting better.
See the data
Frequently asked questions
What example does Richard give for custom deal structures?
Richard says his team has completed 16 transactions using gross revenue royalties to get its capital off the table and derisk the deal.
How does Richard keep his goals visible?
He says he reads a one-page document with his monthly, quarterly, and annual goals, along with short mental statements.
Sources
Quotes are copied from the video captions and checked against the transcript. Timestamps link to the moment in the video. General information only, not legal, tax or investment advice.