Investment Lens Definition

Overview

The practice of defining a firm's investment criteria with concrete, non-subjective terms so that every team member — from analyst to founding partner — gives the same answer to "what is a deal for us?" Jake Colognesi argues this is the foundation of effective company identification, before any sourcing activity begins.

Key Perspectives

• Jake Colognesi distinguishes between concrete criteria ("we invest in profitable companies") and subjective ones ("we're looking for capital efficiency"). The former creates a clear line in the sand; the latter introduces gray areas where the team diverges. Mamba's lens: $2-10M ARR, 50-100%+ growth, 90%+ retention, bootstrapped, founder-owned, B2B SaaS. (Ep. 20)
• Jake also includes a more subjective founder-quality assessment: backing management teams with high ceilings, typically validated through references rather than resume pattern-matching. He specifically notes there's no single founder archetype — vertical software founders often come from the industry their software serves. (Ep. 20)

Episode Coverage

Episode	Guest	Angle
Ep. 20	Jake Colognesi	Tight investment lens as foundation for company identification