I was thinking earlier today about one of the more subtle litmus tests that I use when considering an investment opportunity - my excitement trend line.&160; My partner Ryan really helped me think through this a few months ago (I had been doing it but hadn't been explicit about it).&160;

For every investment opportunity we dig into there are always multiple meetings, due diligence calls, research reviews, partner debates and other chances to interact about a company or idea.&160; It's obvious when I write it out here - although I think more subtle when you're actually in the middle of evaluating an opportunity - but the trend line around a potential deal should be pretty clearly rising as you spend more time on it.&160; I'm not saying that every meeting has to be better than the last or that you can't dig up issues that require further work or clarification.&160; I am saying that overall your enthusiasm for a deal should be increasing (and clearly so) over time rather than going down or even staying the same.&160; It's not a reason in and of itself to make an investment, but is a pretty good barometer of when you're on to something or not.