Scott Hartley is a best-selling author who wrote "The Fuzzy and the Techie" about the power of liberal arts skills in tech, and he's made this philosophy central to his investing approach rather than treating it as a side interest. He co-designed a community-driven VC model where hundreds of founders serve as LPs and actively help portfolio companies, with Hartley describing his role as air-traffic control between portfolio needs and LP expertise rather than traditional partner-centric support.

• A strong belief in marrying the liberal arts with technology. He actively promotes the idea that the best companies and ideas combine STEM with the humanities, evidenced by his enthusiasm for anthropology in the tech age and his own writing on balancing philosophy with technology.
• Admiration for bold, futuristic innovation and those who build it. He frequently praises ambitious ventures like SpaceX and Starlink, defending the long-term vision of electric vehicles and the digitization of finance against short-sighted criticism.
• Commitment to democratizing access to capital and work. He champions platforms that enable freelance payments or alternative investing, while expanding his own fund's reach into non-traditional tech hubs like the Midwest and Australia to support founders globally.
• Empathy for the difficulty of the founder journey. He compares company building to endurance sports, noting that while triathlons have a finish line, truly ambitious startups require a relentless, ongoing grind that makes maintaining work-life balance a significant challenge.
• Interest in the future of work and automation. He argues against the idea that machines will replace people, suggesting instead that automation will actually drive a need for more human workers with adaptable skills.