Make Something Wonderful Manifesto

Many products leave you frustrated. Most products are forgotten. But some products, when designed with craft and care, have the power to bring magic to the mundane. This is our passion.

So far, we have done this in food—turning the nightly hassle of "What is for dinner?" into a delicious time-saving adventure, in rugs—reimagining a dirty home staple into a beautiful product inviting you to let life in, and in soap—transforming the bland bar soap experience into a better-for-you moment that adds smiles to showers.

We believe the best way we can give back to humanity is to make wonderful products that delight customers. I started Make Something Wonderful (MSW) Ventures because I love to do this, and I want to partner with founders who do too.

MSW’s purpose is to turbocharge founders who are on a mission to make wonderful products.

Before starting MSW, we made wonderful products and businesses from the CXO, CEO, and board seat. We partnered with founders from ~$300K in revenue and helped them build wonderful teams and products that each generated billions in lifetime revenue. We supported from startup to exit, building every function. We have made many mistakes, worked through them, learned from them, and ultimately forged our way to success. Collectively we raised $60M in primary capital in 10 rounds and have returned $1.5B back to founders and investors so far.

Our Approach

Our approach to driving MSW’s success is first to turbocharge founders and second to be disciplined investors.

Our Recipe for Turbocharging Founders

  • Both swipe right: Investing in a company is a relationship among people. We are clear about who we are and who we are not, so founders can choose if we are a good fit for them. We look for founders we admire—humble, hungry, curious individuals who recruit A-players and put the mission first.
  • Put the mission first: We love Steve Jobs’ insight that "the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." We partner with founders to define an authentic, ambitious, galvanizing mission. A clear mission makes decision-making easy because we know our North Star.
  • Create an A-player utopia: Wonderful teams are behind wonderful products. We build environments where A-players thrive and multiply. Our aim is to have the best people from CEO to support reps. We infuse purpose, high standards, growth, clarity about priorities, and fun. We avoid politics, egos, bureaucracy, and B-players.
  • Operate in dog years: Great startups pack more cycles of iteration into the day, multiplying learnings and accelerating progress. We close the gap between reality and the mission by operating at a 7x pace.
  • Join you in the arena: We’ve been in many board meetings where investors suggest doing everything perfectly—and that’s rarely helpful. Instead, we are in the arena with you. At first, we are all-star teammates helping to put out fires and build capabilities. As momentum builds, we step back, but always remain by your side.

Our Playbook for Disciplined Investing

  • Focus: In a world of endless opportunities, it is as important to say no as it is to say yes. We say no to most opportunities so we can go deep with the ones we choose to support.
  • Get incentives right: We love Charlie Munger’s adage, "Show me the incentive, and I’ll show you the outcome." Our investment structure charges 33% carry, has our LPs invest deal-by-deal, and we charge no management fees. We are always the largest LP in our deals. This forces us to live and die by our investment results.
  • Be patient: We love Buffett’s observation that "Opportunities come infrequently—when it rains, put out the bucket, not the thimble." We don’t confuse activity with achievement. We wait patiently for great opportunities and pursue them aggressively when they arise.
  • Know thyself: We’ve spent countless hours reflecting on who we are, who we are not, and where we have a right to win. We know what makes a great investment for us. In a world of endless possibilities, sticking to our identity is our competitive advantage.

Make Something Wonderful is the name of a book of Steve Jobs’ writings that inspired me to pursue my passion for building wonderful products. I named my firm MSW to remind me of my intention and to honor those who inspire me.

Learning from Jobs, other greats, and my mentors has been the biggest driving factor in my success, as they showed me the way to journey further.

I aspire to do the same for the founders I partner with—and together, make something wonderful.

- Nathan, June 2025