The Interview is the Product

An Mi6 series on next-generation entrepreneurs and ventures

We believe the next generation of ventures will not be built by working harder, moving faster, or sacrificing more of the founder. They will be designed. Designed to create, deliver, and capture value without burning human capacity. Designed to compound economic, social, and cultural capital over time. Designed to use technology and AI as leverage — not as substitutes for judgment.

In a world where execution is abundant and speed is cheap, the real constraint is decision quality. The founders who endure will be those who practice discipline before momentum, clarity before commitment, and value exchange before growth. These ventures are not built to consume their creators, but to serve them — as vehicles for learning, freedom, and long-term prosperity.

Why we’re interviewing venture operators — and what you’ll get in return

The last post argued for a posture that protects founders from the most expensive illusion in venture creation: speed before clarity. This post is about the mechanism.

We’re running an interview sprint with founders and operators at any stage — from early startup to growth and scale, from turnarounds to entrepreneurs managing multiple bets, to incubation leads building entrepreneur and venture development focused ecosystems.

Not to pitch you.To map a question that matters if you’re serious about durable venture momentum:

What changes when a venture starts running on a real operating system — not a collection of good intentions?

Most ventures don’t fail from lack of effort

They fail from invisible decision debt.

The decisions that quietly become expensive later:

• committing to an artifact before the value exchange is clear

• scaling a motion that doesn’t convert

• hiring before the operating cadence exists

• letting priorities multiply faster than capacity

• mistaking activity for traction

At any stage, the constraint isn’t usually effort. It’s decision quality under pressure.

In our first client interviews, the pattern wasn’t “we need more tactics.” It was spurty progress, delegation drift, and decision avoidance that slowly turns “busy” into “stuck.”

Early signals from the first interviews (so far)

• People don’t hire “services.” They hire felt partnership — and they can tell when something becomes invoice-driven consulting.

• “Structure” is experienced as emotional relief, not bureaucracy (when it reduces drift and restores follow-through).

• Place still matters: face-to-face proximity changes behavior, momentum, and trust.

• Community energy only counts if it converts into opportunity: partnerships, pipeline, members, or repeatable outcomes.

What we mean by “next-generation venture”

A next-generation venture is not defined by industry or tech.

It’s defined by what it compounds.

It compounds three forms of capital intentionally:

• Economic Capital (wealth creation)

• Social Capital (a network that feeds opportunity indefinitely)

• Cultural Capital (knowledge, experience, expertise — the human judgment that makes speed safe)

Most ventures accidentally build these if they do at all.

Next-generation ventures learn to compound all three — because the venture is not the point. Founder freedom is the point.

The interview is not market research. It’s an exchange.

We treat interviews as a value exchange because the conversation itself can produce clarity.

Think of this less as “being interviewed” and more as a diagnostic mirror: you bring your real context, we bring a disciplined lens, and you leave with language and a constraint you can actually act on.

If you participate, you’ll receive:

1) A written Venture Snapshot (after the call) 

A short summary of what we heard — not what we assumed — including:

• what appears to be moving vs. what is just motion

• the constraint most likely limiting momentum right now

• the decision you’re carrying (and what it’s costing)

2) A “Shift Map” (whether or not you’ve already made a change) 

If you’ve already made a shift (new cadence, reset, hire, strategy change), we’ll capture before → after → mechanism so you can repeat what worked. 

If you haven’t made a shift yet, we’ll capture current state → constraint → next shift and define:

• what must change first

• what to stop doing

• what a 30-day “proof of movement” would look like

• what would make the shift “worth it”

We won’t pitch on the call — but if you want help implementing the shift that emerges, we can share two paths afterward: Venture Design (high-touch) or AREA 81 (membership).

3) One 30-day experiment suggestion 

Not a plan. Not a roadmap. A single testable move designed to increase clarity or momentum without increasing burn.

4) The de-identified synthesis once the sprint is done 

Patterns we’re seeing across stages — what consistently precedes traction, what consistently produces drift, and what operators regret committing to too early.

What we ask from you

1) 45–60 minutes of real answers 

This only works if you’re honest about what’s unclear, what’s stuck, and what you’re avoiding.

2) Specific examples, not generalities 

We’ll ask for a concrete moment or two:

• “What happened the week before that decision?”

• “What did it cost?”

• “What changed first?”

• “What’s still not working even after effort?”

3) Permission to learn — not permission to sell 

This is not a sales call. We’re not trying to convert you.

We’re trying to understand what causes progress that doesn’t consume the human running the system.

Human + AI philosophy (so you know what’s happening with your input)

We use AI to accelerate coordination and synthesis — not connection.

The conversation stays human. Because judgment, context, care, trust, and courage can’t be automated.

Who this is for

You’re a fit if you’re a founder or operator at any stage, and any of these feel familiar:

• you’re moving fast, but the venture still feels fragile

• traction exists, but decision load is rising faster than capacity

• execution quality is drifting as you scale

• you’re mid-stream and considering a reset (positioning, team, operating cadence, priorities)

• you’re running multiple initiatives and need a system that prevents drift and premature commitment

• you care about building something that compounds value and preserves the venture builder(s)

Want to participate (or help shape the dataset)?

Choose the simplest path:

A) Participate in an interview Reply with:

• your role (founder / operator / investor / incubation lead)

• what you’re working on in one sentence

• whether you’re actively shifting right now or considering a reset

• your preferred format (in-person / via Google meet)

B) Make an introduction If you know 1–2 operators who would benefit from a diagnostic interview, introduce us.

C) Partner distribution If you run a community/newsletter/program and want the de-identified synthesis delivered to your people, reach out.

Interested?

You can contact us or even book an interview now here.

Ventures should compound value — not consume the people who build them.