Draven McConville's 7 Lessons On Patient Capital

The life story of Draven McConville reads more like something straight out of Hollywood. It didn’t come easy for the Northern Irish founder and investor who took the hard way up from being homeless to exiting his startup in 2024. Along the way, he learned that how you fund your business is just as important as what you build. According to McConville, “Sustainable growth is more important than flashy features.” It’s a point of view that more startups are being forced to consider.

When he sold Klipboard, many people asked about their funding approach. “We didn't follow the traditional venture capital path that dominates startup headlines,” he says. “Instead, we chose patient capital from family offices, a decision that proved central to our sustainable growth and successful exit.”

Patient capital isn't just an alternative funding source. It's a fundamentally different philosophy about building businesses. With 90% of startups ultimately failing and only 18% success rate for first-time founders, the patient capital approach becomes increasingly relevant. Family offices now control more than $6 trillion in capital and are projected to surpass hedge funds by 2030.

Here are seven hard-learned lessons McConville discovered about patient capital that every entrepreneur should understand.

1: Patient Capital Aligns Timelines with Reality

Traditional venture capital operates on fund cycles that rarely align with the time it takes to build sustainable businesses. VCs need to return capital within specific timeframes, creating pressure for exits that may not serve the company's best interests.

Patient capital operates on business timelines, not fund timelines. “Our investors understood that building a market-leading field service platform would take years, not quarters. This alignment allowed us to make decisions based on what was best for the business rather than satisfying investor reporting requirements.”

2: Quality of Capital Matters More Than Quantity

The startup world often celebrates large funding rounds as validation. But quality matters more than quantity, something worth taking into consideration at a time when investors have been ploughing boatloads of cash into AI startups.

“Our patient capital partners had deep industry experience and networks that proved invaluable. They understood the field service market, knew key players, and provided strategic guidance based on real experience rather than just financial modeling.”

3: Sustainable Growth Beats Rapid Scaling

The venture capital model often prioritizes rapid scaling over sustainable growth. The pressure to achieve hockey stick curves can lead companies to compromise long-term value for short-term metrics.

“Patient capital allowed us to focus on sustainable growth. We could prioritize customer satisfaction over user acquisition numbers and invest in competitive moats rather than just market share.”

This approach paid dividends, he says. “Customer retention rates exceeded industry averages, and our competitive position strengthened over time.”

4: Patient Capital Enables Better Decision Making

When you're not under pressure to hit quarterly targets or prepare for the next funding round, you can make better long-term decisions. Patient capital creates space for strategic thinking that's often impossible in traditional VC environments.

“We could say no to opportunities that didn't align with our vision and invest in R&D that might not pay off for years.” The benefits didn’t stop there. “During challenging periods, while competitors cut costs to preserve their runway, we maintained investment in customer success and fundamentals.’

5: Cultural Alignment Creates Competitive Advantage

Patient capital investors think like business owners rather than financial engineers. They understand that sustainable success comes from building strong cultures, developing great products, and serving customers well.

“This cultural alignment influenced every aspect of our business,” he says. “Our investors supported transparency, accountability, and employee development. Every stakeholder - employees, customers, investors - aligned around the same long-term vision, creating a competitive advantage that competitors couldn't easily replicate.”

6: Exit Strategy Should Serve Business Strategy

Traditional VC funding often creates pressure for exits that serve investor timelines rather than business opportunities.

“Patient capital allowed us to approach our exit strategically. We could wait for the right opportunity with the right buyer and negotiate from strength rather than necessity. When we were approached for an exit, we evaluated based on strategic fit and long-term value creation, not just financial terms.”

Lesson 7: Patient Capital Requires Different Disciplines

Patient capital isn't easier than traditional VC funding. It requires different disciplines. You need strong fundamentals, clear competitive advantages, and sustainable business models.

Patient capital investors conduct deeper due diligence and ask sophisticated questions about market position and competitive moats. They're less impressed by growth metrics and more interested in business quality. This higher bar makes you a better entrepreneur by forcing deeper thinking about your business model and strategy.

Practical Advice for Entrepreneurs

If you're considering patient capital:

• Ensure your business model is compatible. If you need rapid scaling to capture market share, traditional VC might be more appropriate.

• Build strong fundamentals first. These investors want sustainable unit economics, competitive advantages, and evidence of product-market fit.

• Look for investors who bring more than capital. The best patient capital partners provide industry expertise, strategic guidance, and valuable networks.

• Prepare for deeper investor relationships. Patient capital investors often want greater involvement in strategic decisions and longer-term management commitments.

Patient capital isn't right for every business, but for companies building for the long term, it provides significant advantages. The key is finding alignment between your business needs and investor expectations.