Nathan Maton (@NathanMaton) header
Nathan Maton (@NathanMaton) profile picture

Nathan Maton

@NathanMaton

angel investor / exited blockchain founder

Joined July 2009
  • Tweets991
  • Following321
  • Followers2.6K
100Media
Photo by Nathan Maton (@NathanMaton)Photo by Nathan Maton (@NathanMaton)Photo by Nathan Maton (@NathanMaton)Photo by Nathan Maton (@NathanMaton)Photo by Nathan Maton (@NathanMaton)Photo by Nathan Maton (@NathanMaton)Photo by Nathan Maton (@NathanMaton)Photo by Nathan Maton (@NathanMaton)Photo by Nathan Maton (@NathanMaton)Photo by Nathan Maton (@NathanMaton)
The Critical Path In work it can be hard to know what the critical path is to accomplish an objective. Even if you know, it can be hard to keep the main thing the main thing. Over the last month I was lucky to have an opportunity to be a group partner for Lightyear, a month long accelerator all about helping founders identify the critical path and do the hard things towards it. Here are three lessons for founders: 1. Fuck yes or hell no This is so easy to say, and so hard to keep doing. There aren’t many things in life you’re truly a fuck yes about. If you’ve started a company, that’s 1. If you need sales, that’s a second. Many other things aren’t. Can you really stick to this day after day? Compound enough of those in a row and you'll likely do something great. 2. Energy management The hardest time to keep going is when your spirits are down, which is compounded by thousands of things from work to life to health. Learning to be healthy, and catch your negative patterns before they knock you on your side is critical. 3. Doing #1 and #2 is extremely hard I watched founders who gave up company equity to join us continue to mess up #1 and #2. We helped them get back on track, but it is really not easy.
24
Your pitch deck's first reader is probably AI. 82% of PE and VC firms now actively use AI somewhere in their process—up from 47% the year before. EQT built Motherbrain to monitor 10M+ companies; SignalFire's Beacon tracks 80M+. I screen thousands of deals a year, and like a growing number of investors, I use AI for the first pass. Most founders still don't know this is happening, and almost none are adapting for it.
39
In vertical AI the hard part is knowing which 50 workflows matter, what “good” looks like in each one, and where the AI must never guess.
1
59
Last week I rage bought a $250 smart toothbrush after a bad dental visit and somehow am now inspired about the future of human health. It coaches me on coverage, pressure, can magically monitor how long I'm spending on each part of my mouth, and even gives me extra ideas on how to help with the gum issues beyond what my dentist shared (the dentist suggested getting a Waterpik which I also got). While my dad told me I'm still only getting input based metrics, so who knows if it is working (thanks dad), the feeling of technology supporting me on something frustrating is inspiring. How many other areas of health could be improved with smart tools that we can afford but don't think to try/buy? How many of the world's problems are caused by people in bad health feeling fear and acting out of fear or self preservation vs. stewardship of the world and abundance?
Image from Nathan Maton (@NathanMaton)
35
Nathan Maton retweeted
Nick (@nickcammarata) profile picture
Nick
@nickcammarata7 Jan 2025
i hate how well asking myself "if i had 10x the agency i have what would i do" works
125
974
239
16,032
1,653,067
Lol, except my insane comp packages?
DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) profile pictureDogeDesigner
@cb_dogeOct 31
“I want no pay, no awards, no recognition or fancy title. I just want America to reach greater heights.” 一 Elon Musk
Image from DogeDesigner (@cb_doge)
51
If you want to start a startup work at a t1 VC or Tesla/SpaceX?
Deedy (@deedydas) profile pictureDeedy
@deedydasOct 31
Which startups are most likely to get an investment from top tier VCs? I looked at ~60 attributes across 5000 startups and these were the 15 strongest. #1 is being from a top tier fund. MBA is a negative signal Full list of signals below:
Image from Deedy (@deedydas)
73
Some mistakes I see people make when seeking to be good stewards of our planet.
Typeshare Deck Card

ALT Typeshare Deck Card

Typeshare Deck Card

ALT Typeshare Deck Card

Typeshare Deck Card

ALT Typeshare Deck Card

Typeshare Deck Card

ALT Typeshare Deck Card

12
A screenshot essay titled '3 mistakes people make when trying to fix health for better energy.' The text begins with the author's thoughts on the relationship between health and energy, emphasizing the importance of health in enabling a giving mindset. The essay outlines three mistakes: 1. Ignoring sleep, highlighting its critical role and how lack of it can impair cognitive function comparable to alcohol; 2. Misunderstanding health foundations, stressing diet, exercise, and social connections as key elements; 3. Attempting to change everything at once, advocating for gradual changes anchored to existing habits for sustainable health improvement.

ALT A screenshot essay titled '3 mistakes people make when trying to fix health for better energy.' The text begins with the author's thoughts on the relationship between health and energy, emphasizing the importance of health in enabling a giving mindset. The essay outlines three mistakes: 1. Ignoring sleep, highlighting its critical role and how lack of it can impair cognitive function comparable to alcohol; 2. Misunderstanding health foundations, stressing diet, exercise, and social connections as key elements; 3. Attempting to change everything at once, advocating for gradual changes anchored to existing habits for sustainable health improvement.

1
50
Agents are discovering the cloud. Bout time
51
Sharing my experience to accelerate your investing!
A screenshot essay titled '3 mistakes people make when trying to get good pre-seed deal flow' discusses the author's investment experiences, emphasizing three key mistakes. The first mistake is 'Asking before giving', where the author advises to build value before making requests. The second focuses on 'Going for quantity, not quality', suggesting investors aim for extraordinary founders rather than high volumes of connections. The final mistake is 'Assuming someone isn't raising', encouraging proactive engagement with promising companies before they announce funding rounds. The essay provides insights for aspiring investors to enhance their strategies in securing pre-seed deals.

ALT A screenshot essay titled '3 mistakes people make when trying to get good pre-seed deal flow' discusses the author's investment experiences, emphasizing three key mistakes. The first mistake is 'Asking before giving', where the author advises to build value before making requests. The second focuses on 'Going for quantity, not quality', suggesting investors aim for extraordinary founders rather than high volumes of connections. The final mistake is 'Assuming someone isn't raising', encouraging proactive engagement with promising companies before they announce funding rounds. The essay provides insights for aspiring investors to enhance their strategies in securing pre-seed deals.

38
Nathan Maton retweeted
Tyler Denk 🐝 (@denk_tweets) profile picture
Tyler Denk 🐝
@denk_tweetsOct 21
basically my entire career happened because I kept saying yes to things I had absolutely no idea how to do yet > starting a tech company in college before I’d ever written a single line of code > taking a $3k project from Morning Brew I had no idea how to build > running their engineering team when I’d never had a job as an engineer > going all in on @beehiiv when we had no product, no revenue and no customers > raising our seed round with no idea how much it actually costs to build a company & today @beehiiv is a $35M+ ARR company with 130 employees life is more fun when you say yes 🙃
Image from Tyler Denk 🐝 (@denk_tweets)
47
9
3
289
21,951
3 mistakes when people try to integrate spirituality and entrepreneurship: 1. Acting too confident. The same level of confidence entrepreneurs use for revenue or hype can be even more cringe when you're talking about wisdom or spirituality. 2. Becoming holier than thou. While the idea of bringing your values into a company is good, it can fall apart when people feel judged that they aren't as spiritual as you. Use values to inspire, not judge. 3. Thinking your beliefs should be everyones. Spiritually to me is a way to connect inwards. The way for everyone to do that is different. I like those who are generous in offering things to help, but quick to admit what works for them may not work for you.
1
67
3 mistakes people make when trying to fix health for better energy: 1. Ignore sleep. This is literally the most important thing to get right of anything you do. 2. Misunderstand foundations. Beyond sleep, diet, exercise, and social connections are the other foundations. 3. Try to do everything at once. You already have habits, so changing more than one thing at a time is too hard for most people.
Image from Nathan Maton (@NathanMaton)
31
3 mistakes people make when trying to get good pre-seed deal flow and what to do about them: 1. Assuming someone isn't raising: Ask for startups that excite you. You never know, I've invested into companies started by billionaires who didn't need my money but wanted contacts.
1
55
2. Going for quantity, not quality: It isn't hard to get thousands of pitches, but will they be good? Will they be things you want. 3. Asking before giving: This is a long term game, play a give, give, get culture and you can win. Ask only and no one wants to share.
20
Interested in pre-seed investing, spiritual entrepreneurship, and health for peak performance. Over the next 30 days, I'll be writing about these topics!
53
Nathan Maton retweeted
Rowan 🛡️ (@RowanRK6) profile picture
Rowan 🛡️
@RowanRK6Oct 14
1/ Beat Proof of Quality. Win a Tesla. Send us your hardest dataset and tell us what good looks like. We'll choose five US robotics and world AI teams. PoQ gets three days to meet the agreed evaluation targets. The first team we fail wins the prize. Apply: sapien.io/challenge
Image from Rowan 🛡️ (@RowanRK6)
10
21
15
58
257,194
Send your data!
Rowan 🛡️ (@RowanRK6) profile pictureRowan 🛡️
@RowanRK6Oct 14
1/ Beat Proof of Quality. Win a Tesla. Send us your hardest dataset and tell us what good looks like. We'll choose five US robotics and world AI teams. PoQ gets three days to meet the agreed evaluation targets. The first team we fail wins the prize. Apply: sapien.io/challenge
Image from Rowan 🛡️ (@RowanRK6)
1
57
This your answer?
christian gonzalez (@cxgonzalez) profile picturechristian gonzalez
@cxgonzalezOct 14
cardio. the answer was cardio
85
Load more