The Peel with Turner Novak Footwork’s Secret Sauce | Mike Smith and Nikhil Basu Trivedi
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Mar 26, 2026 
Mike Smith, operator-turned-investor who scaled Stitch Fix, and Nikhil Basu Trivedi, venture investor who backed Canva, chat about founding Footwork and their hands-on approach. They discuss AI driving a new wave of solo entrepreneurs. They explain Footwork’s two-seat board model, the one-pager they share with founders, and how investing pace differs from operating.
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Give Founders A Tailored One-Page Playbook
- Help companies before investing by producing a tailored one-pager on how you'll work with them.
- Footwork's investor one-pager lists risks, potential hires/customers, and specific ways the firm will add value.
Talk To Portfolio Employees Early And Often
- Meet and recruit portfolio employees, not just founders: add them on LinkedIn and offer help during hiring.
- Footwork often interviews candidates and uses portfolio experience to sell and evaluate hires.
Disagree And Commit Without Attribution
- Footwork permits disagreement: one partner must be a 4 (strongly supportive) and they can disagree yet commit; post-investment they remove attribution.
- They never publicly track who was the lead; every deal is 'footwork' and both support it.