Mike Smerklo took an unusual path into venture capital, working in accounting, investment banking, and operating roles—including over a decade building ServiceSource into a public company—before becoming an investor, and he draws on that experience to focus heavily on founder psychology, using his own framework (which he calls Mr. Monkey and SHAPE) to talk openly about fear, self-awareness, and the mental grind of entrepreneurship rather than hype or simple success stories. As someone who grew up in Toledo, Ohio and was the first in his family to attend college, he brings that personal background into his advice to founders, and he donates all proceeds from his book to a scholarship for entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds.