165 | Practice the Game You Want to Win: Scott Kelly on Sales, Grit, and Funding

Scott Kelly, founder/CEO of Black Dog Venture Partners, shares 30 years of lessons helping tech and consumer brands fund, sell, and scale.

We dig into why “sales is a lost art,” why your network is your real funding source, and how to build relationships that lead to opportunities.

Plus: keystone habits, outworking 21-year-olds at 61, and why you should love practice as much as the game.

Highlights & Timestamps

• 0:00 Meet Scott Kelly — exits, accelerators, and why he never really “retired”
• 2:42 What success actually looks like (solve problems, create opportunities)
• 4:13 Sweet spot: early-stage tech & CPG; why sales often fixes everything
• 5:00 The lost art of asking for the sale (and handling “no”)
• 6:37 Stop doing $5/hr tasks when you’re paid for $500/hr outcomes
• 8:02 “Wozniak & Jobs” — know your lane; if you can’t sell, hire it
• 8:45 Learn the ratios: leads → calls → closes (practice, not theory)
• 9:55 Investor-readiness: your pitch, story, questions, & live “VC Fast Pitch” reps
• 11:25 Follow-up matters: most wins happen on touches 5–6+
• 11:45 Money is in your list: coffees > cold banks; DM your “couch money”
• 12:24 Daily relationship reps: LinkedIn to real conversations; 100 lunches challenge
• 13:49 Don’t pitch-slap investors on first contact; relationships first
• 13:57 Old school still works: direct mail & handwritten notes that close deals
• 15:26 Keystone habit: “obscene work ethic” — love the grind, love the practice
• 17:29 Parting advice: never stop learning, be confident & humble, don’t give up

Pull Quotes

• “Sales is a lost art. Ask for the money—and be okay hearing ‘no.’”
• “Stop doing $5/hour tasks when you’re paid to produce $500/hour outcomes.”
• “Relationships lead to opportunity. Don’t pitch-slap on the first message.”
• “If you can’t sell, be honest—find someone who can.”
• “Love the practice as much as the game.”

Guest Links

📲 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackdogceo/?hl=en

📲Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blackdogceo

📲Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/blackdogceo/

🌐 Website: https://blackdogceo.com/

vcfastpitch.com

blackdogventurepartners.com

Host Links

• Rodric’s books: Million Dollar Flip Flops and The Magnet, The Method and The Machine
• Send a Student Leader Abroad (SASLA) — 100% of book profits support the mission

Resources: