Most founders assume failure comes from bad strategy, weak execution, or unlucky timing. According to Aram Attar, that’s rarely the real cause.
After 15+ years advising founders and training VCs, Aram found a pattern: people consistently fall into one of two psychological modes when making decisions under uncertainty, trying to win or trying not to lose. And those two mindsets lead to dramatically different outcomes in fundraising, board decisions, and exits.
The most dangerous part? Founders often don’t realize which mode they’re operating in. That blind spot shows up in cautious fundraising, misaligned earnouts, bad partial exits, and teams that never challenge each other’s assumptions.
In this episode, Aram explains how one founder’s 20-year journey led to a $2.2B public company, and why mindset, not genius, made the difference.
👉 Watch the full episode to hear what actually went wrong.
Here’s what you’re in for:
00:00 Introduction
00:39 A 20-year journey to a $2.2B exit
01:57 How VCs make decisions
03:50 Investing in a Mexican retail company
06:20 What mindset-based investing really means
10:04 Behavioral insights every founder should know
15:34 Research behind successful VC thinking
23:43 Missed deals and costly VC mistakes
24:20 How investment committees really work
24:51 The champion rule in venture capital
26:06 Inside the investment committee process
29:37 Why founder empathy matters
33:04 The power of honest communication
36:28 How to evaluate emerging fund managers
43:01 Advice for new fund managers
46:29 Final thoughts and key resources
ABOUT Aram Attar
Aram Attar is the Founder of The VC Factory, where he works with LPs, GPs, and founders to improve decision-making under uncertainty. Having invested in, advised, and sat on boards of numerous companies, Aram focuses on applying proven psychological frameworks to venture capital, fundraising, and founder leadership.
Get in touch with Aram:
Check out The VC Factory
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