Josh Kushner's Bet on Concentration: Inside Thrive Capital's Strategy
Most venture firms raise bigger funds and write bigger checks. Thrive Capital does the opposite—and it's working.
Josh Kushner explained how Thrive operates differently and why concentration, not diversification, drives their returns.
The Small Team Philosophy
Thrive keeps its team intentionally small. Not because they can't hire more—but because a smaller team acts more like a company than a fund.
This creates:
- Faster decision-making
- Deeper involvement with portfolio companies
- Stronger relationships with founders
The goal: operate like a selective investor, not a capital allocator.
Concentration Over Diversification
Traditional VC spreads bets across many companies. Thrive does the opposite—they concentrate in fewer investments where they have high conviction.
The logic:
- When you're confident, bet big
- Winners more than compensate for losers
- Deep involvement improves outcomes
This requires discipline. You need conviction to concentrate—and the stomach to watch concentration work.
Iconic Bets
The approach has produced remarkable results:
- Instagram — early investor in the photo app that changed social media
- Stripe — backed the payment infrastructure that powers internet commerce
- GitHub — invested before Microsoft acquired it for $7.5 billion
- OpenAI — Thrive's AI bet before the boom
Each required conviction when others weren't sure.
The AI Focus
Thrive's current thesis focuses on three areas:
AI-native labs — frontier model companies building the intelligence infrastructure
Resilient infrastructure — the compute and delivery systems AI requires
AI-transformed holdings — applying AI to modernize businesses they invest in
The permanent capital experiment—buying and internally modernizing businesses—represents an attempt to capture AI transformation value directly.
Conviction and Individuality
Kushner's philosophy draws from influences like The Fountainhead. He believes in:
- Strong individual convictions
- Working independently rather than following crowds
- The power of small advantages that compound over time
This extends beyond investing. It's a life philosophy about creating meaningful work and avoiding the conventional path.
What This Means for Founders
Thrive's approach creates opportunities for founders who want:
- Deep support, not just capital
- Investors who take big bets
- Partners who stay invested over time
The trade-off: they're highly selective. Not every company fits their thesis or receives their attention.
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