Van Halen's Secret Investor Test

A plain‑language guide for founders (and anyone who writes emails)

Maybe I’m overly obsessive about details, but investing is a Sherlock Holmes game: you need sharp, detail‑oriented checks. In my experience, when you spot a small issue in the first meeting, it rarely gets better—those tiny clues usually point to bigger problems down the road.

I first read this story years ago, and it crossed my path again last week. As an investor who obsesses over the small details, I suddenly saw how perfectly it mirrors the way I judge founders and run my investment process.

One of my favorite stories comes from the 1980s rock band Van Halen. Their concert contracts were thick binders full of technical details: how much weight the stage had to carry, the exact voltage for the lights, even the size of the doors for heavy gear. Hidden halfway through, they slipped in one odd line: “A bowl of M&Ms must be placed backstage—every single brown candy removed.”

That sounded like rock‑star ego, but it was really a safety trip‑wire. If lead singer David Lee Roth walked in and saw a brown M&M, he didn’t lose his cool over candy—he called for a full inspection of the stage. The logic was simple: if the crew missed the tiny candy clause, they probably missed bigger instructions that kept everyone safe.

The proof? At one show in Colorado, the promoter ignored the rider. The stage flooring couldn’t handle the band’s heavy gear, sank several inches, and repairs cost roughly $85,000. After that mess, the brown‑M&M test became their fast way to spot careless partners and avoid disasters.

That single piece of candy was a trust test—a quick signal that showed whether the other side respected the details that could make or break the show.

I use a similar test when I look at startups. My “brown M&M” is how founders handle their email.

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Why email matters more than you think

Your inbox may feel like a chore, but it sends loud signals about you and your company. A quick look at your response habits tells me four things:

1. Operational habits – Are you organized or drowning in chaos?

2. Strategic thinking – Do you reply to the right messages first, or just the loudest ones?

3. Relationship management – Do you respect other people’s time?

4. Professional discipline – Are you someone who follows through?

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A simple tool: the Urgency‑Importance Matrix

To keep my own inbox sane, I lean on a two‑by‑two grid called the Urgency‑Importance Matrix. Here’s the plain‑language version:

Train yourself (and your team) to drop each email into one of these boxes the moment it arrives. Important stuff never gets buried again.

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How delays look from the outside

When you think, “I’m just busy,” I might see poor prioritization, weak execution, and a lack of respect. Intent is invisible; only behavior shows. If I keep hearing:

• “Too busy to respond.”

• “Will get back to you soon.”

• “Sorry for the delay.”

I read that as a pattern, not an exception.

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Response benchmarks from top founders

• Major investor email: minutes, not days. (Sequoia writes? You clear your schedule.)

• Due‑diligence request: within a few hours.

• Warm intro (a friend connects you to someone valuable): same day. (“Warm intro” = an introduction from a mutual contact.)

• Event invite: 48 hours is fine.

This isn’t about living in Gmail; it’s about knowing which balls are glass and which are rubber.

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On holiday? Still pass the test

1. Set an auto‑reply with clear dates and an emergency contact.

2. Check once a day for true emergencies.

3. Finish critical items before you log off.

4. Let VIPs know you’ll be slower. They’ll appreciate the heads‑up.

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A four‑question cheat sheet for every email

1. Urgency: Does this need action today?

2. Sender importance: Who’s asking?

3. Action required: Quick answer or deep work?

4. Response quality: One‑line reply or thoughtful note?

Decide, act, move on.

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Building an email habit that earns trust

• Prioritize by quadrant (the matrix above).

• Set your own service‑level agreement (SLA): e.g., “I reply to investors within 24 hours.” (SLA = a promise on how fast you’ll respond.)

• Use templates for repeat questions, but personalize key relationships.

• Track your average response time once a month and adjust.

• Stay consistent. Reliability beats occasional brilliance.

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The bottom line

Your communication quality is a small key that opens—or locks—big doors. As one slide in my deck says, “Your email response time is a trust builder, a reputation maker, and a success predictor.”

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