The Eating Life of a VC

It’s true – I had three lunches on the same day. I’ve had two lunches on the same day before, but never three. I didn’t plan it – it just kind of ended up that way.

When I did my startups, we called it the Startup Diet. We spent all our time working. We ordered pizza into the office, stayed till all hours of the night, and if we went out it was for burritos down the street. If you’re an entrepreneur, you’re living this movie right now.

When meetings are your life, however, you spend a lot of time eating out. Tomorrow I have a breakfast, a lunch, and a dinner; Thursday breakfast, lunch and drinks.

Now don’t get me wrong – I love going out to eat. It’s a lot less formal than meeting someone at the office, plus it’s a lot of fun, and I get to buy – something I rarely did as an entrepreneur. But there are three problems.

First, it’s easy to gain weight. Heart disease and diabetes run in my family and I have to watch what I eat. As a marathoner, more weight means a slower time. All in all, it’s bad news.

Second, when I get to the weekend, I’m ruined by the meals I’ve eaten during the week. Kaygetsu? Lunch Thursday. Town Hall? Dinner Tuesday. Buck’s? Breakfast Monday.

Finally, it’s killing my reputation. As an entrepreneur turned VC, I’ve always stuck to my entrepreneur roots. Now I get remarks like, “I see you’re going for the standard VC breakfast of granola, yoghurt, and fruit,” or, worse yet, “Looks like you’re having no problem adjusting to the VC lifestyle.” Any lean and mean entrepreneur will know that these sorts of comments are like daggers through my heart.

Back to my three lunch day. Here’s how it happened. I scheduled lunch with someone I really wanted to meet. I wanted to have lunch because of the less formal setting (plus, I knew I’d be hungry around 11:45). Then there was someone who suggested lunch and I had to meet with that person – so I accepted. The thing I didn’t count on was lunch #3, the surprise lunch.

I intended to meet up with an entrepreneur for coffee after lunches one and two, and, being a little slow due to the two lunches I’d just had, I asked the entrepreneur if he had eaten yet (this was at 2:30 in the afternoon), and he said – no. I admit I didn’t eat a full third lunch – but I did have a few bites – after all, this was someone I respected and I didn’t want him to have to eat alone. But when you’ve already had two lunches, a third one can really cramp your style.

Don’t worry, though. I’ll do my best to live up to your expectations of the VC lifestyle by taking you out to eat at a great restaurant. I do have a weakness for good sushi.

But if you just want a burger, a burrito at some hole in the wall joint, or a beer, count me in. Taco Bell may have coined the term Fourth Meal, but it’s taken on a whole new meaning for me. Just don’t ask me why I’m not eating.

Next time: How to Eat Healthy as a VC.