This month our longtime portfolio company, SignPost, humbly announced the close of their $20.5 million dollar Series C.

The Company offers consumer marketing tools and manages its customers’ presence on sites like Yelp, while leveraging data from credit card transactions and social media to send targeted marketing messages that drive sales, referrals and reviews.

For Scout, it is a proud day because Stu Wall was one of our first entrepreneurs when we launched Fund I.   We were originally introduced to Stu through another one of our entrepreneurs, Dan Gellert.   Dan is another great entrepreneur with a special place in Scout’s legacy, as he was one of my first board seats.   He sold his company GateGuru to TripAdvisor which enabled us to make our first LP distribution in Year 1 and gave us the credibility to raise more money.

As I reflect on how proud I am of both entrepreneurs and the journey I’ve experienced with them as an investor, I think its important to reflect on how we got here and how to replicate this relationship with more entrepreneurs.

(1) Our best deals are normally sourced through our entrepreneur network.   This is why its so important to always treat an entrepreneur with a level of mutual respect.

(2) When you get to meet an amazing entrepreneur, have the mindfulness to identify their potential and don’t be caught up in the day to day to miss the opportunity.

(3) Each and every relationships between an entrepreneur and investor is based on trust and communication.  Without these two key variables, its difficult to build a company that can win.

(4) As an investor, as soon as you find a kick ass entrepreneur don’t hesitate in helping them build and motivate their team.   No great entrepreneur can build an awesome company without a supportive and passionate team.  Stu asked me to talk to the entire Signpost team (now 213 strong!) the day before we announced to them the news of this raise.  I was inspired and I think the team was pretty fired up as well.

Building great companies is hard to do and it takes a really, really long time.

Don’t rush.

Value each entrepreneur and spend your time making a difference, not being a pain in the ass.

***This post is dedicated to the memory of a new and dear friend.  All of our hearts are a little less full tonight.  We love you Kelsey.***