The $50M Exit Playbook Most Founders Don't Know - Chris Van Dusen
1/2/202656 min
In this thought-provoking episode, Charles sits down with Chris Van Dusen—investor and managing partner at Solyco Capital—to explore how disciplined thinking, long-term vision, and operational focus drive enduring business value. Chris unpacks his journey into private investing, sharing how Solyco Capital partners with founders and management teams to scale companies with intention, not hype.
From evaluating opportunities beyond surface-level metrics to building businesses that can withstand market cycles, Chris explains what truly separates sustainable growth from short-term wins. He dives into the mindset of patient capital—why alignment, leadership, and execution matter just as much as fin...
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First 90 secondsCharles· Host0:00
Welcome to the Proven Podcast, where it doesn't matter what you think, only what you can prove. On this episode, Chris shares he helps founders navigate venture capital, understand what investors actually want, and turn million-dollar ideas into multi-million dollar exits. This one's unforgiving, unrelenting, and it's just trying to help. The show starts now. All right, everybody. Welcome back to the show. I'm excited to have Chris with you. Thank you so much for joining.
Chris Van Dusen· Guest0:24
Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here.
Charles· Host0:26
Absolutely. There's a bunch of people who don't know who you are, so if you could get everybody kind of caught up, that would be amazing.
Chris Van Dusen· Guest0:30
Absolutely. So, Chris Van Dusen- Mm-hmm ... senior partner, Slico Capital.
Charles· Host0:33
Mm-hmm.
Chris Van Dusen· Guest0:34
Uh, we're an early stage, growth stage venture firm.
Charles· Host0:37
Mm-hmm.
Chris Van Dusen· Guest0:37
Uh, home office is out of Rochester, Michigan. We have offices in Dallas, Louisville, Miami, uh, as well as I'm out here in California.
Charles· Host0:45
Yep. And we're here at Skullcandy, so thank you again.
Chris Van Dusen· Guest0:47
We're here at Skullcandy.
Charles· Host0:47
Yeah, thank you guys for doing that.
Chris Van Dusen· Guest0:49
Yeah.
Charles· Host0:49
So can you tell people a little bit about your history, of what you've done that's allowed you to get to this point?
Chris Van Dusen· Guest0:53
Absolutely. So I grew up in the Northeast.
Charles· Host0:55
Mm-hmm.
Chris Van Dusen· Guest0:55
Wasn't always from this nice sunshine- Mm-hmm ... laden place here in, in California. I grew up in Connecticut, went to school at the College of William & Mary in Virginia.
Charles· Host1:03
Mm-hmm.
Chris Van Dusen· Guest1:03
Uh, graduate degree in economics.
Charles· Host1:05
Mm-hmm.
Chris Van Dusen· Guest1:05
I actually played baseball at a fairly high level.
Charles· Host1:06
Okay.
Chris Van Dusen· Guest1:07
Thought that's what I was gonna do.
Charles· Host1:08
Right.
Chris Van Dusen· Guest1:08
But, uh- I know the feeling. Yeah. Unfortunately, Tommy Johns is what was destined in my future.
Charles· Host1:12
I just couldn't find the strike zone. That was my problem. [laughs] [laughs] I had a 90 mile an hour fastball and I kept hitting the guy. I was like, "I don't know where it was."
Chris Van Dusen· Guest1:17
[laughs] So, uh, graduate degree in economics. Started in sales, ended up in finance. Moved out to California at the end of '09.
Charles· Host1:23
Okay.
Chris Van Dusen· Guest1:23
Problem is, there was this little thing called a real estate recession that was happening.
Charles· Host1:27
I don't know what you're talking about at all.
Chris Van Dusen· Guest1:28
[laughs] And just a whole much bigger thing,