I took my first call with Delian in Nov 2020 while I had COVID and was isolating in the guest room of a new house on a mattress on the floor. I was introduced by one of my favorite founders, Connor Zwick from Speak, who I had also backed in his seed round and whose judgment I trusted. I felt pretty shitty and wanted it to be a quick call, but it somehow turned into a 2+ hour conversation. I remember Delian telling me he had been thinking about manufacturing in space since he was 13 years old. At the time it felt like a long shot. I actually thought Delian was a little nuts, but I loved his ambition, intensity, and conviction. He was at least giving it a real shot. After our call he texted me: “Really enjoyed our conversation and hearing how you analyze people’s psychology and motivations. Super important but no one ever asks in the way you do.” I thought it was telling that he realized what I was trying to figure out about him during our call. It made me even more bullish. He also told me Connor had said I was always there for founders, especially in messy situations. I think that played a role in why, despite the seed round being competitive and us barely knowing each other, he still let me invest alongside Founders Fund in the seed round of Varda. Today Varda announced a partnership with United Therapeutics to explore creating drugs in microgravity. Delian seemed nuts, and I was nuts for believing, but somehow @zebulgar and @WillBruey turned their mission into reality. Take initiative. Build. And if you’re not going to build it yourself, answer the call. Even when you have COVID