𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 (𝐧𝐨𝐭) 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 – 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐲

When people think about strategy, they often think about action: expanding, building, scaling. But strategy is just as much about what not to do. At ekwithree, we believe that saying no to the wrong things is just as important as saying yes to the right ones.

Over the years, we’ve come across recurring themes that steer us away from certain investments - not due to lack of opportunity, but because they don't align with our approach to sustainable growth.

Here are a few examples of what we typically pass on - and why:

𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬

Where differentiation is low and value creation tends to rely more on timing than true advantage.

𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭-𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥-𝐮𝐩 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬

We’re cautious on M&A roll-ups with unclear integration logic. Revenue spikes may look exciting, but post-deal friction often reveal deeper risks.

𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬

When return expectations, exit timelines, or value creation philosophies differ too much across stakeholders, it’s a red flag. We prefer long-term alignment over short-term returns.

𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬

Where transparency, motivation, or structure raise more questions than answers.

𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫-𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬

When too much depends on a single individual, resilience and scalability become concerns.

𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

Even the most compelling business model can fall short if the people and values don’t match. 

As Jim Collins put it: “𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑠, 𝑖𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 - 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒.”

Beyond these, we also stay away from financial engineering games, vague go-to-market plans, unclear governance, flat growth trajectories, and “hockey-stick” financials that magically appear just before a sale - often with no sustainable USP behind them.

In short: saying “𝐧𝐨” is just as strategic as saying “𝐲𝐞𝐬”.