# Welcome to Field Notes! By Jeff Stowell · 2026-02-27 · Insights > Welcome to Field Notes from Hayseed Capital, a semi-regular newsletter from Jeff Stowell — 2x founder, 3x CEO, venture investor. Each issue has something for founders, something for investors, something worth reading, and whatever's rattling around in my head that week. Glad you're here. # Welcome to Field Notes No. 1 Thanks for reading! My name is Jeff Stowell and I'll be telling you a little bit about who I am and what this is as we go along. For those who don't know me, I spent about 15 years founding and running a business (which I eventually sold). I have spent about the last 15 years founding and running a small venture capital firm that operates in the Mountain West and Midwest (with a few side projects here and there), and I'm about to spend the next little while doing a bit of both operating and investing. I'm going to write about chunks of that part in this space. Thanks for following along. Each Newsletter in Field Notes will have largely the same format... Something for Founders, Something for Investors, Something I'm Reading, and Something I'm Thinking About. You can subscribe and get Field Notes in your inbox, or you can [follow me on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreylstowell/), [follow me on Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/jayhawkjeff.bsky.social), or follow Hayseed Capital on either [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/hayseed-capital/) or [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/hayseedcapital.com) (or do it all!). I'll be really active in all of those places. And so, without further ado, **Field Notes No. 1.** ## Something for Founders For the last couple of years the VC market has been undergoing rapid shifts. There has been **HUGE** consolidation into just a few active (and very large) firms. Much ink has been spilled on this topic, and I'll feature some good reads here and there. But, as a result of these shifts, several things are now true: 1. Fewer deals are getting done by fewer firms; 2. Deal sizes have gotten very large, meaning you must be in markets to match the kind of capital that these firms are deploying. And that leads to; 3. Even more unrealistic growth expectations than usual. So, what's a founder supposed to do in the face of all that? If you want to raise VC money, my very first recommendation is to just understand the fundraising market. Do the work. Dig into the data and understand **what** is actually getting funded and understand **who** is actually funding. That second part is the most important. Remember, there are zero incentives for a venture capital firm to ever tell you "No." That means it can be really hard to not waste a lot of time. Given all that, here's today's tip... Ask this one question near the beginning of every VC interaction you have right now: > "What was the last investment your fund made, and when was that?" ## Something for Investors There has been a lot of chatter lately about disruptions to software markets due to the rapid evolution of AI tools. There was a point in the last week where public markets gave up over $1 TRILLION in market value because they were scared of a Claude update. That's really something! As I was searching around for something to help me sum up what was going on, this [note from Nicolas Bustamante](https://x.com/nicbstme/status/2023501562480644501?s=42) (the CEO of a company called Fintool) resonated the most with me. One of the things that really jumped off the page for me was his clear-eyed view on exactly _what_ "AI" (LLMs in particular) change in the software landscape. He also happens to confirm one of my priors, which is that those who own or control large/unique data sets have a real chance to win. Everything else might just be noise. Give it a read and tell me what you think! Hat tip to one of my Royal Street Ventures LPs for this recommendation. He shall remain nameless to protect his pristine reputation. ## Something I'm Reading I'm not a huge "work efficiency" proponent. There are some things one needs to do and how one gets themselves organized to do that is largely a matter of personal choice. In fact, I sort of loathe "Inbox Zero" and "4 Hour Work Week" and general life hack stuff. BUT... awhile ago I found a book called [Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman](https://bookshop.org/p/books/four-thousand-weeks-time-management-for-mortals-oliver-burkeman/e804097e7cf37bdf?ean=9781250849359&next=t) and now I read it once a year. I'm rereading it now. Fair warning; the first page reads "Introduction: In the Long Run, We're All Dead." So if that kind of framing is not for you, this book might not be either. But I find it very insightful and it has become one of my very favorite books. Everything is a choice. Make good choices! If anyone ever wants to discuss this book, I'm ready. ## Something I'm Thinking About This week I'm thinking a lot about my students at [University Venture Program](https://uvfcrossroads.com/). Some reflections on teaching and what a decade of serving young people in that program has meant to me in Field Notes No. 2. Thanks for reading! /JLS --- Canonical URL: https://hayseedcapital.com/blog/field-notes-1 Site: The Hayseed (https://hayseedcapital.com) — writing, coaching, teaching, and early-stage investing by Jeff Stowell. Operated by Hayseed Capital, LLC, Park City, Utah.