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Sandy Kory recounts an early M&A lesson (senior partner
Brief
Sandy Kory (2026-03-25) argues that explicitly holding opinions — a lesson from her early M&A career — makes founders pay closer attention, gather more information, and learn faster than simply following others. She warns YC founders against defaulting to partner advice, urges using AI to form perspectives, and cites SendCutSend founder Jim Belosic’s standards (clean floors/bathrooms) as an example of opinionated leadership Horizon backs.
Why it matters
Sandy Kory recounts an early M&A lesson (senior partner: “I'm glad you have an opinion. It's good to have an opinion.”) — having an opinion forces attention, information-gathering, and faster learning versus executing others’ mental models on autopilot.
Key details
- Kory sees many YC founders defaulting to YC partner advice during fundraising and urges them to form and state their own views; she argues AI makes developing informed opinions cheaper than ever.
- Concrete example: Jim Belosic, founder of SendCutSend, insisted on clean shop floors and bathrooms for all employees—uncommon in local job shops—which Kory credits as one manifestation of opinionated leadership Horizon prefers to back.