I invested $500,000 in Uber. Everyone said an actor has no business doing venture capital. That check is worth more than my entire acting career.
I do not build financial models. I use the product. If I would use it every day, and I think millions of others would too, I invest.
Hollywood taught me one thing about investing: know your audience. The best products are the ones that feel like magic the first time you use them.
Being famous gives you access to founders that most VCs dream about. I use that access to actually learn, not just to get deal flow.
Airbnb, Uber, Spotify — my best investments were all things my friends in Iowa would have used. If it only works for San Francisco tech people, I pass.
I get taken more seriously as an investor now. But in the early days, founders would pitch me and think it was a joke. Those founders missed out.