Airtable's 80% off value crash: VCs explain why it's still a win | E2321
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Today's show:
*Airtable just sold for $2.25 billion, an 81% drop from its peak of $11.7 billion. On this week's TWiST VC Roundtable, Aditya Agarwal (South Park Commons), Niko Bonatsos (Verdict Capital), and Rick Heitzmann (FirstMark Capital) break down why the venture world sees this as a good outcome, not a financial disaster.
By declining the deal, would Airtable's team have just been delaying the inevitable? Is the fact that they reached $400M+ ARR on its own a reason to celebrate? Find out why our investor panel prefers unwinding a stuck situation rather than chasing a growth rate that's no longer sustainable.
PLUS Robinhood's booming prediction market business, the secondary market flap over Anduril shares, why so many VCs shy away from "vice" categories, and a glimpse at how insiders are talking about the Apple-OpenAI lawsuit.
Guests
Aditya Agarwal on X: https://x.com/adityaag
South Park Commons: https://www.southparkcommons.com/apply
Niko Bonatsos on X: https://x.com/bonatsos
Verdict Capital: https://verdictcap.com/
Rick Heitzmann on X: https://x.com/rick
FirstMark Capital: https://firstmark.com/
Relevant Links
Airtable: https://www.airtable.com/
Bending Spoons announces Airtable acquisition: https://investors.bendingspoons.com/newsroom/bending-spoons-agrees-to-acquire-airtable
Constellation Software: The Anti-Conglomerate: https://www.eaglepointcap.com/blog/constellation-software-the-anti-conglomerate
Introducing Robinhood Ventures Fund II: https://robinhood.com/us/en/newsroom/introducing-rvii/
Quartz: Robinhood posted record quarterly revenue: https://qz.com/robinhood-record-revenue-prediction-markets-earnings-073026
Riot Games: https://www.riotgames.com/en
AngelList's USVC Fund: https://usvc.com/
Baseten: https://www.baseten.co/
OpenEvidence: https://www.openevidence.com/
Hermes Agent: https://hermes-agent.org/
Granola: https://www.granola.ai/
Timestamps:
0:00 VC intros & Bending Spoons buys Airtable
9:19 Why growth is the only metric that matters
9:45 Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist
20:52 Agree.com - Stop chasing invoices and automate your entire contract-to-cash stack. Go to https://agree.com and tell them Jason sent you to get 50% off for life!
26:25 When should VCs sell in secondary markets?
30:55 Odoo - The all-in-one business platform. Get started for free at https://Odoo.com/twist
35:38 Robinhood's prediction markets are exploding
43:13 The USVC-Anduril secondary controversy
46:18 How VC firms use open source models
58:43 Telling the real founders from the grifters
1:02:38 Why Apple is suing OpenAI
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Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
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Build Mode: Compensation, culture, and cap tables with Yuri Sagalov, GeneralCatalyst
TechCrunch's founder-focused podcast, Build Mode, is back. This season we’re breaking down what it really takes to build a world-class founding team starting with your cap table, equity structures, and startup compensation strategy.
We kick off with Yuri Sagalov, managing director at General Catalyst and former founder, YC partner, and seed investor at Wayfinder Ventures. Yuri has worked with hundreds of pre-seed and seed-stage startups, and he shares practical advice on how early-stage founders should think about startup equity, cap table design, investor selection, and compensation structures from day one.
He breaks down:
The 3 types of investors (and which one to avoid)
Why your cap table is part of your team
The 20–25% seed dilution rule
How to split equity with a co-founder
How to talk to early employees about risk and compensation
No matter where you are in your startup journey, this episode will help you get the incentive structure right from the beginning.
Chapters:
00:00 - Why your first hires deserve more equity
00:31 - Meet Yuri Sagalov (YC → General Catalyst)
02:12 - Your cap table is part of your team
02:50 - The 3 types of investors (avoid this one)
05:02 - How to split equity with a co-founder
07:55 - How much equity to give early employees
09:37 - How to talk compensation and risk
12:31 - Red flags in formation docs and vesting
18:27 - Advisors for equity? Usually a mistake
20:05 - The 20–25% seed dilution rule
26:03 - The shift to 10-year stock options
34:11 - Don’t scale before product-market fit
39:23 - Final advice: Just start and choose your co-founder carefully
New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday. Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
WSJ x a16z: The Next 25 Years of Defense Innovation
In this episode from WSJ Invest Live, Andy Serwer speaks with Katherine Boyle, general partner at a16z, about the American Dynamism practice she helped launch four years ago. They discuss why saying "America" out loud stunned Silicon Valley in 2022, how Russia's invasion of Ukraine changed everything, and what it means to invest in companies that support the national interest.
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube
Find a16z on X
Find a16z on LinkedIn
Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify
Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Why AI will dwarf every tech revolution before it: robots, manufacturing, AR glasses from CES 2026
(0:00) Guest intros: Jasons introduces Bob Sternfels (McKinsey) and Hemant Taneja (General Catalyst)
(2:52) The pace of innovation and why VC's are buying hospitals
(9:30) CFOs vs CIOs and unlocking growth
(20:46) The job market and why graduates aren't getting hired
(27:33) Why education is broken
(40:03) Tech time capsule
Follow Hemant Taneja:
https://x.com/htaneja
Follow Bob Sternfels:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-sternfels
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https://x.com/chamath
https://x.com/Jason
https://x.com/DavidSacks
https://x.com/friedberg
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Intro Music Credit:
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Intro Video Credit:
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20VC: General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja on The Future of Venture Capital: Chanel vs Walmart | Lessons Scaling GC to $40BN in AUM | Investing $5BN+ Into Stripe Over 14 Rounds | Investing Hundreds of Millions into Anthropic at $60BN Valuation
Hemant Taneja is the CEO and leader of General Catalyst, the firm he has scaled over the last decade into one of the largest with over $40BN in AUM. He has been one of the most influential investors of the past two decades, leading early bets in Stripe, Snap, Gusto, Samsara, Grammarly, and Canva. He also played a pivotal role in Livongo's $18.5B merger with Teladoc, one of the largest digital health deals in history.
AGENDA:
00:00 Introduction
03:37 Is Hemant a CEO or an Investor?
05:42 With $40BN AUM Is General Catalyst Still a VC Firm?
12:11 Has Trump Done More to Hurt or Help the US?
13:25 No One is Talking About the True Impact of AI on Jobs
21:30 Is Hemant Concerned by the Concentration of Value in MAG 7?
27:30 Has Trump Done More to Hurt or Help the US?
30:27 GC's Anthropic Investment: Upside from a $60BN Price
37:06 Do Margins Matter in a World of AI
45:23 Does Revenue Growth Matter in a World of AI
49:39 Why it is BS to Turn Down a Company Based on Price
56:06 We Have Invested $5BN Into Stripe Over 14 Rounds
01:00:02 VC is About To Be Flooded with Retail Investment: What Does It Mean for VC
01:08:51 "What I Learned Losing the Series A of Snap, Stripe, Samsara"
01:11:25 Future of Venture Capital: Walmart vs Chanel
The Revolution in Services: General Catalyst's AI Rollup Strategy, with Marc Bhargava
Marc Bhargava from General Catalyst discusses their Creation Strategy for building AI-enabled roll-ups – companies that start as vertical software startups, then grow by acquiring traditional service businesses and transforming them through AI automation. They explore how systematic analysis of 70 service categories identified 10 verticals where 30-70% of tasks are automatable today, potentially transforming low-margin service businesses into software-like companies with 30-40% margins. The conversation covers the practical implementation of AI in industries like accounting, legal services, and call centers, where teams shadow workers to identify automatable tasks and layer AI into existing processes. While both see tremendous potential in bringing AI transformation to Main Street businesses, they debate whether the transition will be as smooth as projected or more disruptive to employment than anticipated.
See Business Transformation with Applied AI for more details.
Sponsors:
Labelbox:
Labelbox pairs automation, expert judgment, and reinforcement learning to deliver high-quality training data for cutting-edge AI. Put its data factory to work for you, visit https://labelbox.com
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure:
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is the next-generation cloud that delivers better performance, faster speeds, and significantly lower costs, including up to 50% less for compute, 70% for storage, and 80% for networking. Run any workload, from infrastructure to AI, in a high-availability environment and try OCI for free with zero commitment at https://oracle.com/cognitive
Shopify:
Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, handling 10% of U.S. e-commerce. With hundreds of templates, AI tools for product descriptions, and seamless marketing campaign creation, it's like having a design studio and marketing team in one. Start your $1/month trial today at https://shopify.com/cognitive
NetSuite by Oracle:
NetSuite by Oracle is the AI-powered business management suite trusted by over 42,000 businesses, offering a unified platform for accounting, financial management, inventory, and HR. Gain total visibility and control to make quick decisions and automate everyday tasks—download the free ebook, Navigating Global Trade: Three Insights for Leaders, at https://netsuite.com/cognitive
PRODUCED BY:
https://aipodcast.ing
CHAPTERS:
(00:00) About the Episode
(04:50) Introduction and Investment Thesis
(13:04) Software Substituting Labor (Part 1)
(20:00) Sponsors: Labelbox | Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
(22:37) Software Substituting Labor (Part 2)
(26:40) Company Development Playbook (Part 1)
(35:59) Sponsors: Shopify | NetSuite by Oracle
(39:19) Company Development Playbook (Part 2)
(41:19) Customer Partnership Strategy
(51:57) Technical Implementation Approach
(01:00:15) Market Consolidation Dynamics
(01:07:57) Automation Limitations Analysis
(01:19:25) Big Tech Competition
(01:22:40) Public Strategy and Vision
(01:25:56) Outro
Hemant Taneja - Engineering Global Resilience - [Invest Like the Best, EP.382]
My guest today is Hemant Taneja. Hemant is the CEO and Managing Director of General Catalyst, the global venture capital firm you’ll hear us refer to as GC. GC has set out to build resiliency across critical industries worldwide. The firm leverages technology to retool sectors such as healthcare, energy, defense, and manufacturing and explores innovative capital structures to support founders and businesses. Hemant discusses how the firm is positioned to respond to the aftermath of crises, including the pandemic, wars, energy issues, and beyond. We also discuss the building of a category-defining healthcare company, Livongo and much more. Please enjoy this conversation with Hemant Taneja.
Listen to Founders Podcast
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
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This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp’s mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Ramp is the fastest growing FinTech company in history and it’s backed by more of my favorite past guests (at least 16 of them!) than probably any other company I’m aware of. It’s also notable that many best-in-class businesses use Ramp—companies like Airbnb, Anduril, and Shopify, as well as investors like Sequoia Capital and Vista Equity. They use Ramp to manage their spending, automate tedious financial processes, and reinvest saved dollars and hours into growth. At Colossus and Positive Sum, we use Ramp for exactly the same reason. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus.
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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.
Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.
Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).
Show Notes:
(00:00:00) Our Partners: Ramp and Tegus
(00:03:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best
(00:03:57) Introducing Hemant Taneja and General Catalyst
(00:04:17) Global Resilience and Innovation Post-Pandemic
(00:05:56) Re-Globalization and Manufacturing
(00:07:03) Building Livongo: A 20-Year Overnight Success
(00:13:23) Aligning Incentives in Healthcare
(00:15:40) Re-imagining the Investment Business
(00:20:54) Evolution of General Catalyst
(00:27:04) Succession and Trust in Asset Management
(00:35:00) Founder-Centric Capital Goals
(00:36:32) Balancing Growth and Liquidity
(00:41:39) AI and Onshoring Productivity
(00:47:10) Defense Investments and Ethics
(00:50:11) Geopolitics and Regulation
(00:53:16) Reflections on Leadership and Strategy
(01:01:14) Hemant's Future Plans
(01:02:55) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Him
Rapid Response: What campus protests mean for business, w/Ken Frazier and Ken Chenault
Amid college campus protests over Palestine and Israel, stark US political divides, and legal challenges to diversity initiatives, business leaders face new pressure on whether to speak out and take action on issues of our time. Ken Frazier, former CEO of Merck, and Ken Chenault, former CEO of American Express, offer their unfiltered advice, as board members of the Harvard Corporation and two of America’s most prominent Black executives. It’s a candid conversation about the most controversial topics in American business, from DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) to January 6th.
The pair collaborate at the venture capital firm, General Catalyst. Ken Chenault is the Chairman and a Managing Director, while Ken Frazier is the firm’s Chairman of Health Assurance initiatives.
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QctAB_DGAIM
For more info, visit: www.rapidresponseshow.com
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Prioritize principles in crisis, w/Upwork’s Hayden Brown and Merck’s Ken Frazier
Navigate today’s uncertain climate with a steadfast resolve. Recorded live at the Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco, former Merck CEO Ken Frazier and Upwork CEO Hayden Brown talk with host Bob Safian about how leaders should trust their values when faced with social, political, and economic challenges. Brown shares how leading through the chaos of the pandemic brought new opportunities to increase diversity and productivity. Frazier details Merck’s reactionary strategy to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and offers clear advice to socially conscious leaders.
Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com/
Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Lessons from one of the world’s top executive recruiters | Lauren Ipsen (Daversa Partners, General Catalyst)
Lauren Ipsen is one of the most well-known and respected executive recruiters in the industry, having placed over 90 senior product leaders at companies including Twitter, Reddit, Opendoor, Postmates, Nextdoor, and many others. She is currently the Director of Executive Talent at General Catalyst, and prior to that was a senior leader at Daversa Partners. In today’s podcast, Lauren shares advice for founders on hiring senior product leaders, tips for product leaders on finding better opportunities, and the most common mistakes recruiters make. She talks about how to play the long game of networking to find the best talent and about recruiting best practices, and we also dive deep on market mapping, LinkedIn, and how to approach reference checks.
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Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-one-of-the-worlds-top
—
Where to find Lauren Ipsen:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-ipsen-6a5a84113/
—
Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
—
Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for making this episode possible:
• Retool: https://retool.com/lenny
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• Vanta: https://vanta.com/lenny
—
Referenced:
• Gokul Rajaram on Lenny’s podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/gokul-rajaram-on-designing-your-product-development-process-when-and-how-to-hire-your-first-pm-a-playbook-for-hiring-leaders-getting-ahead-in-you-career-how-to-get-started-angel-investing-more/
• The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577314808
• You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment: https://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Here-Discovering-Present/dp/1590308387/
• Your Own Backyard podcast: https://www.yourownbackyardpodcast.com/
• Top Gun: https://www.amazon.com/Top-Gun-Tom-Cruise/dp/B001K3K5MO
• BeReal: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bereal-your-friends-for-real/id1459645446
• Strava: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/strava-run-ride-hike/id426826309
• Spotify: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/spotify-music-and-podcasts/id324684580
• Joe Suliman at Daversa Partners: https://www.daversapartners.com/team/joe-suliman/
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In this episode, we cover:
(04:46) Lauren’s background
(07:52) Why the best recruiters seem to be migrating to VC funds
(09:44) Mistakes founders make in searching for their first senior product leader
(13:26) Questions for founders to ask when thinking about who to hire
(16:07) The three main types of PMs
(18:27) What do job titles mean, and why are they more susceptible to change in a startup environment?
(21:50) What should product leaders do ahead of hiring senior product leaders?
(23:14) How to network with great talent
(27:37) Why the timetable for recruiting is variable
(29:02) How to be productive with your time by tapping your network
(30:27) Why recruiting via LinkedIn might not be the best use of your time
(33:17) Lauren’s favorite placement of all time
(37:30) The importance of diversifying your experience
(40:16) The art and science of staying long enough to have a meaningful impact
(43:23) The importance of creating real impact as a leader
(47:57) Good questions to ask references and how to dig deeper
(49:35) Resume red flags and the importance of honesty
(53:39) Interview tips for product managers
(57:29) Common mistakes recruiters make
(1:00:57) Advice for founders looking for a recruiter
(1:04:24) Lightning round
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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
Katherine Boyle - Investing for America - [Invest Like the Best, EP.290]
My guest today is Katherine Boyle, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Katherine started her career as a reporter for The Washington Post before moving into VC at General Catalyst. She now leads a practice at a16z called American Dynamism, investing in companies that are solving critical issues in areas like defense, housing, and education.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
The content here is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as legal, business, tax or investment advice, or be used to evaluate any investment or security and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details, please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus streamlines the investment research process so you can get up to speed and find answers to critical questions on companies faster and more efficiently. The Tegus platform surfaces the hard-to-get qualitative insights, gives instant access to critical public financial data through BamSEC, and helps you set up customized expert calls. It’s all done on a single, modern SaaS platform that offers 360-degree insight into any public or private company. As a listener, you can take Tegus for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick. And until 2023 every Tegus license comes with complimentary access to BamSec by Tegus.
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Today's episode is brought to you by Brex. Brex is the integrated financial platform trusted by the world's most innovative entrepreneurs and fastest-growing companies. With Brex, you can move money fast for instant impact with high-limit corporate cards, payments, venture debt, and spend management software all in one place. Ready to accelerate your business? Learn more at brex.com/best.
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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.
Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.
Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus
Show Notes
[00:02:42] - [First question] - The origin and overview of the term American Dynamism
[00:05:01] - Why the shift to a move slow and make sure nothing breaks mentality
[00:07:31] - What about the American system today feels broken and stale
[00:09:48] - Becoming a journalist at The Washington Post
[00:11:35] - Describing the power landscape of media as it exists today
[00:12:28] - Major categories of American Dynamism that matter most
[00:14:29] - What matters more or less to her as an investor in these categories
[00:17:31] - Whether or not there’s anything fundamentally broken about our government
[00:19:36] - The Systems Bible; What excites her about aerospace and defense and what creates opportunity and demand in these sectors
[00:26:01] - An overview of how lobbying works and who does it and why
[00:33:09] - The biggest problems that currently exist in the K-12 school system
[00:37:34] - The role immigration will play in range of outcomes in these main categories
[00:39:32] - Key takeaways about housing in light of American Dynamism
[00:42:09] - Her interpretation of the chart that shows inflation in categories over time
[00:47:56] - Whether or not expected returns and risk profiles are different in this area
[00:49:55] - Overview of the anatomy of a great story
[00:51:30] - The story she tells founders at this stage so establish a partnership
[00:52:46] - The kindest thing that anyone has ever done for her
American Dynamism (with Katherine Boyle)
We sit down with a16z General Partner Katherine Boyle to discuss investing in “American Dynamism”, why it’s so important and why now is the right time to pursue it. Katherine has a fascinating background, beginning her career as a reporter at The Washington Post before entering the VC world first at Founders Fund, then General Catalyst and now a16z. Her perspectives don’t fit neatly in any box — political, economic or otherwise — and we have a great conversation exploring them. Tune in!
This episode has video! You can watch it on YouTube.
Sponsors:
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Links:
Katherine’s post on Building American Dynamism
Marc Andreessen’s It’s Time to Build
Katherine’s Substack
Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.
Rapid Response: Why business must be a force for good, w/former American Express CEO Ken Chenault
"Corporations can be a force for good – and they can also be very successful," says Ken Chenault, chair of investment firm General Catalyst and former longtime CEO of American Express. During the past year, Ken has been an outspoken advocate for business leaders to actively engage in societal matters. After George Floyd’s death, he and Merck CEO Ken Frazier launched OneTen, a coalition to create 1 million jobs for Black Americans that now includes major brands from IBM to Nike to Walmart. Chenault has pushed corporate chiefs to use their leverage to protect voting rights, and he's come out with a platform for Responsible Innovation that puts what he calls “social due diligence” alongside financial due diligence. Standing up for what's right, Ken says, fuels long-term success: "The most important thing is the quest for truth, character, and values."
Read a transcript of this interview at: mastersofscale.com
Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
How great leaders innovate -- responsibly | Ken Chenault
In times of uncertainty, leaders have a responsibility to inspire hope. Sharing hard-won wisdom, business leader Ken Chenault talks about what it takes to enact positive, enduring change -- and why it's more important than ever to invest in responsible innovation that uplifts people and centers equality and fairness. (This conversation was hosted by TED current affairs curator Whitney Pennington Rodgers.)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
20VC: The Founding of General Catalyst, What it Takes to Build a Firm That Stands the Test of Time, Why VCs Need to Give Founders Greater Permission to Go For It & Why Venture Capital is Like Tennis with David Fialkow, Co-Founder @ General Catalyst
David Fialkow is the Co-Founder and Managing Director @ General Catalyst, one of the leading venture firms of the last decade with a portfolio including Stripe, Snap, Airbnb, Anduril, Canva and many more amazing names. Prior to founding General Catalyst with Joel Cutler, David was a serial entrepreneur building and selling 4 successful companies.
In Today's Episode with David Fialkow:
1.) Everything Great Starts Small:
How did David and Joel decide on a Hawaiin beach that they wanted to start General Catalyst?
Why did they decide to name it General Catalyst?
How did the first fundraise go for GC Fund I?
2.) Creating a Firm: The Early Days
What design objectives did Joel and David have when they started the firm?
How did Joel and David think about firm expansion; going to the West Coast? Coming to Europe? Going multi-stage? What drives their decision to do new products?
On reflection, what were some of the toughest elements of the early days with GC?
What does David believe they got right? Why? What did they get wrong? How would he change it?
3.) The Partnership:
What does David believe makes for a truly successful venture partnership?
How does a great venture partnership align to what makes a successful marriage?
How does David approach trust? How does he build it with people?
What situations would cause David to lose trust? Why do so few people understand it?
What does David believe is the true secret to authentic relationship building?
4.) Doing the Impossible: Generational Transition:
What does David believe they did so right in their generational transition at GC?
What do many firms get wrong in handing over the reins to the next generation?
What are the biggest commonalities between venture partnerships and filmmaking?
Mentioned in Today's Episode with David Fialkow:
David's Favourite Book: The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People
Rapid Response: "Be confident enough to show your vulnerability," w/Ken Frazier (Merck/General Catalyst)
Ken Frazier, the longtime CEO of pharmaceutical giant Merck, was one of the few Black CEOs at the top of Corporate America. Now as an adviser at General Catalyst and co-founder of the social impact organization OneTen, he’s re-shaping how business addresses racial and health equity. He joins host Bob Safian to discuss crisis adjustment, the positive side of fear, and the importance of vulnerability. Plus, he addresses the rising divisiveness in American culture, and the important role that business can play – by stressing our commonality and emphasizing kindness.
Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com
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David Fialkow - Paint Outside the Lines - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 243]
My guest today is David Fialkow, co-founder of General Catalyst. If you are looking for a dose of fun, charismatic energy from a very unique investor then this is the conversation for you. David has a diverse background not only as an investor but also as a philanthropist and filmmaker. He won an Academy Award for his role as the producer of the 2018 documentary Icarus. During our conversation, David and I dive into what makes a great founder, the importance of storytelling, and the value of effectively convening people within your network. After listening to all of his great stories, I think you’ll see why David has so much fun and success helping founders. Please enjoy my great conversation with David Fialkow.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.
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This episode is brought to you by Eight Sleep. Eight Sleep's new Pod Pro Cover is the easiest and fastest way to sleep at your perfect temperature. Simply add the Pod Pro Cover to your current mattress and start sleeping as cool as 55°F or as hot as 110°F. To embrace the future of sleep and get $150 off your new mattress go to eightsleep.com/patrick or use code "Patrick".
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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, Inc. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.
Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.
Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus
Show Notes
[00:03:03] - [First question] - How the process started that led to filming Icarus and becoming a VC
[00:16:01] - Lessons learned about identifying creativity in potential founders
[00:19:26] - What it looks like when a founder doesn’t clearly love their product
[00:24:35] - Different aspects of building a successful investment firm
[00:28:22] - Features of Ken Chenault that differentiates him from other CEOs
[00:30:12] - Applicable lessons for the effective convening of people
[00:35:20] - Whether or not he cares about the business model of new companies they back
[00:40:57] - The story of Icarus
[00:47:24] - What is David drawn to at the moment
[00:51:13] - Key ingredients required to tell a powerful and convincing story
[00:53:16] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him
The mmhmm story and how it plans to spend its $100M
For our Wednesday show this week, Natasha and Alex Chris had prior Equity guest Phil Libin back for a chat. Libin was first on our show a while back to chat about his startup studio. But since then, he's been a little busy.
You may recall that mmhmm, Libin's project to build a better video communication service, raised $100 million the other week. And we here on the Equity pod made a little bit of fun at the number. It was just so very much money for a roughly one year old company. What was the company going to use it for?
Well, Libin's folks got in touch and so we decided to just have him on to chat. And we wanted him back because he was one of the most memorable guests on the show, frankly, thanks to his candor the last time around.
So, what did we get into? A refresh on the mmhmm story, and notes from Libin about what's ahead for his company. It certainly has the cash to pursue its vision. But as we learned, building software for a variety of platforms comes with challenges. Challenges that are ameliorated by having lots of smart staff. So, that's where the money is going.
Regardless, it was good sporting of Libin to come back for another chat. Equity is back Friday morning with our news roundup. Make sure to follow the show on Twitter, as we're doing the odd Twitter space that you won't want to miss.
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.
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Rapid Response: Why business must be a force for good, w/former American Express CEO Ken Chenault
"Corporations can be a force for good – and they can also be very successful," says Ken Chenault, chair of investment firm General Catalyst and former longtime CEO of American Express. During the past year, Ken has been an outspoken advocate for business leaders to actively engage in societal matters. After George Floyd’s death, he and Merck CEO Ken Frazier launched OneTen, a coalition to create 1 million jobs for Black Americans that now includes major brands from IBM to Nike to Walmart. Chenault has pushed corporate chiefs to use their leverage to protect voting rights, and he's come out with a platform for Responsible Innovation that puts what he calls “social due diligence” alongside financial due diligence. Standing up for what's right, Ken says, fuels long-term success: "The most important thing is the quest for truth, character, and values."
Read a transcript of this interview at: mastersofscale.com
Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Responsible Innovation and Venture Capital
Hemant Taneja, a managing director at General Catalyst and the founder of the firm’s Silicon Valley operations, joins Scott to discuss the venture capital space, why he’s bullish on the healthcare sector, and why responsible innovation is more important than ever. Hemant also shares his thoughts on the energy space and why Tesla is a key player. Follow Hemant on Twitter, @htaneja. (16:44)
Scott opens with his thoughts on LVMH buying 50 percent of Jay-Z’s champagne brand as well as his thoughts on the luxury brand market.
This Week’s Office Hours: Australia vs. Facebook (49:18) and buying shares on the secondary market (56:40).
Algebra of Happiness: Love & Empathy (60:51).
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20VC: Evernote & mmhmm Founder Phil Libin on Why We are Beginning a Multi-Trillion Dollar Restructuring of the World, Why Shortcuts are the Biggest Mistakes Startups Make & The Future of Video and The Unbundling of Zoom
Phil Libin is the Founder and CEO @ mmhmm, the app that allows you to level up your remote presentations, making high-quality video content in minutes. To date, Phil has raised over $30M for the company from an incredible investor base including Sequoia, Kevin & Julia Hartz, Tony Fadell, Instagram's Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and Brianne Kimmel. Prior to mmhmm, Phil was a Managing Director @ General Catalyst and prior to his time in venture, Phil most famously founded Evernote, where he led the business with phenomenal success, as CEO for over 8 years.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Phil made his way into the world of startups, came to found Evernote and how that led to his founding of mmhmm, most recently?
2.) How would Phil describe his management style today? How has it changed over time? Why does Phil believe shortcuts are the greatest mistakes startups make? What does Phil believe you can vs cannot take shortcuts on? What have been some real world lessons there?
3.) What were Phil's biggest takeaways from his time in venture? How did it change his operating mindset? Does Phil believe there is an incentive misalignment between founder and VC? Why is Roelof Botha the best board member Phil has worked with? What makes him so special?
4.) How does Phil think about the unbundling/verticalisation of Zoom? How does he predict the market evolving? How does Phil see the differing usage patterns between consumer and business? Why does Phil believe more can be learned from looking at similarities and not differences?
5.) What does Phil believe are the two classes of mistakes when scaling startups? What have been Phil's biggest lessons on acquiring and retaining the best talent? How does Phil create an environment of dissent where anyone can bring their entire self and beliefs to the table?
Item's Mentioned In Today's Episode
Phil's Favourite Book: Kafka on the Shore
As always you can follow Harry and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter here!
Likewise, you can follow Harry on Instagram here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.
20VC: Lessons From Working with Bill Gates, How To Lead Without Authority and The Difference Between Leadership and Management & How Fundraising Changes In A COVID World with Quentin Clark, Managing Director @ General Catalyst
Quentin Clark is a Managing Director @ General Catalyst, one of the most prominent firms of the last decade with a portfolio including Stripe, Airbnb, Snap, Anduril, Deliveroo and Cazoo to name a few. As for Quentin, at GC he has led deals in the likes of Kernel, Coda, Commure just to name a few. Before entering the world of venture Quentin was the CTO @ Dropbox and before that he was the Chief Business Officer @ SAP. Finally, before SAP, Quentin spent an incredible 20 years at Microsoft in a variety of different roles play a key part in their hyper-growth.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Quentin made his way from CTO @ Dropbox and 20 years at Microsoft to being an MD with General Catalyst today?
2.) What were Quentin's biggest management takeaways from his 20 years at Microsoft? What is his favourite story about working with Bill Gates? How does Quentin think about the art of delegation? How does Quentin differentiate between leadership and management?
3.) How does Quentin believe the world of fundraising has changed with COVID? How does Quentin build relationships of trust in these compressed fundraising timelines? What works? What does not work? How can you really build that relationship off Zoom? How does this change the fundraising landscape moving forward?
4.) What does Quentin mean when he says he likes to "lead without authority"? How does that translate into his management style? How does Quentin evaluate his style of board membership? How does Quentin know whether to wear the investor vs the operator hat on the board?
5.) Does Quentin believe we are really moving the needle in terms of the projects that venture is funding today? What would Quentin like to see more of? What would Quentin like to change about the world of venture? How does Quentin evaluate market timing risk when investing?
Item's Mentioned In Today's Episode
Quentin's Favourite Book: Stranger in a Strange Land
Quentin's Most Recent Investment: Sprout Therapy
As always you can follow Harry and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter here!
20VC: What Is Founder Narrative Fit and How to Detect and Invest In It, How To Avoid Consensus Thinking When Investing, Price Sensititivity; When To Pay Up vs Stay Disciplined & From New York Times To General Catalyst; Why Venture and Journalism are Not S
Katherine Boyle is a Partner @ General Catalyst, one of the leading venture firms of the last decade with a portfolio including the likes of Stripe, Snapchat, Airbnb, Canva, Cazoo, the list goes on. As for Katherine, at GC she has led deals in game-changing companies such as Anduril, Nova Credit, Spring Discovery and Airmap to name a few. Prior to General Catalyst, Katherine entered the world of venture with Founders Fund and before that spent an incredible 4 years at The Washington Post where Katherine investigated entrepreneurship in many forms.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Katherine made her way from investigating entrepreneurship at The Wall St Journal to being an intern at Founders Fund to today, being a Partner @ General Catalyst?
2.) Why does Katherine believe that journalism is like venture? Why does Katherine believe there are two different styles of venture? What were Katherine's biggest takeaways from her formative years in venture with Founders Fund? How did that impact her investing mindset?
3.) What does Katherine mean when she says she "invests solely on founder narrative fit"? Are there leading indicators of this fit? What advice did Katherine take from her conversation with Mike Moritz pre VC career? How does Katherine strategically avoid consensus thinking and decisions?
4.) How does Katherine approach market sizing? How does Katherine think about strategic insertion into niches that expand to much larger markets? How does Katherine assess market timing? How does Katherine determine the velocity of a market tailwind? What is an example of this?
5.) How does Katherine evaluate the rise of pre-empted rounds today? What advice does Katherine give to founders considering taking multi-stage money at seed? Why did it make sense for Anduril? How does Katherine gain the time of the founders when they are not raising?
Items Mentioned In Today's Show:
Katherine's Fave Book: The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of Our Own Success
Katherine's Most Recent Investment: Ophelia
As always you can follow Harry and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter here!
Likewise, you can follow Harry on Instagram here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.
AMA 2: All Turtles CEO Phil Libin answers questions from founders: should early-stage founders prioritize data or instincts, building global products, ML risks, thoughts on remote work
All Turtles CEO Phil Libin answers questions from founders: should early-stage founders prioritize data or instincts, building global products, ML risks, thoughts on remote work
Join the TWiST Slack: https://launchevents.typeform.com/to/kLq5Bi
Mentioned during the AMA:
Phil's First appearance on TWiST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSYdwNHCmJA
Phil presents his state machine that answers all growth questions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjyhDOb_j1I
All Turtles Product Taxonomy podcast: https://www.all-turtles.com/podcast/episode-50-product-taxonomy-how-we-classify-product-pitches/
Questions:
1:03 Knyck: In your state machine model, how early should companies prioritize looking into resurrection, lines 5&9, of inactive users into low and high-value users?
2:36 David: Thoughts on Notion? I’ve been an Evernote user since ’08 but Notion seems to be winning over some Evernote fans.
3:11 Tom: 1) As CEO, what brings you the most joy as a CEO, any examples? 2) As a Software Engineer, what was one of the most difficult things you had to overcome?
3) What’s one thing early founders don’t think is as important as it really is? (Besides culture)
9:54 Graham: During the early days (pre-product market fit), do you think that more metrics are always better for founders, or would you recommend focusing on those north star metrics that can keep founders focused on the most important business levers?
12:32 Craig: How have any setbacks or failures in the past changed the way you approached problems or roadblocks. What changes will you make after COVID?
17:04 Andrii: How would you compare Notion vs Roam research vs Evernote? What are some strong and weak features of each platform?
18:26 Jeff: Have you completed your goal yet of 1 pull up?
19:36 Sina: As you said: “Many companies focus on just one market and build up from there” but you guys invest in a global presence early on in the process and tried to have users from the Asia Pacific regions from the early days. How did you guys manage to do that? Was it only marketing campaigns or did you guys have strategic partners in that region?
23:31 Tatiana: Do you consider in this matter taking some mentoring as a real addressed help? If so, I would like to take this opportunity to apply for your mentoring, if possible. What will be the best way to contact you and introduce myself?
24:39 Luke: Which products being developed at All Turtles are you most excited about?
27:59 Presh: What’s your framework for deciding which products/problems you’d like to focus on/solve at All Turtles?
30:47 Catharine: Aside from changing how you eat, what are the other two things you’ve done that have transformed your life?
32:53 Jason: Can you talk about your massive weight loss and how that did/didn’t impact you as a founder/leader? Do you think you were perceived differently based on your weight as a founder/leader?
38:02 Alex: We’re building a real-time platform called answerable and we’re wondering at what critical tipping point a platform has enough data to really derive good insights?
40:49 Alex: What would you suggest for a very regulated company (SEC) where user testimonials + referrals are either straight up not allowed or require super fine inspection to avoid being sued?
42:12 Juan Juan: I remember your story when you were planning to close down Evernote then an Angel came to your rescue writing a check that gave you the runway to success. How did that happen and what were you feeling at that time?
44:04 Vitaly: How do you estimate tech risks while investing/building a ML product?
47:08 Tammy: Will remote work actually be permanent?
48:51 Vince: After scaling Evernote and then working as a VC, I’d assume you’d advise many companies not to go the VC funding route,
E1033: News Roundtable! Lambda School CEO Austen Allred & General Catalyst Partner Katherine Boyle on Lambda School controversy, Techlash & late-stage journalism, Robinhood down as Dow jumps & more!
0:54 Want to see what it's like to be an Angel Investor in Jason's Syndicate? DM @thesyndicate415 to read Jason's last 3 deal memos
1:37 Jason intros Austen Allred & gets his side of the recent Lambda School controversy
6:22 Jason intros Katherine Boyle & gets her take on how she would have advised Austen on PR
7:58 Explaining Lambda School in simple terms
13:10 Setting up Lambda School as a counter to predatory loans
14:31 Jason explains late-stage journalism, Austen describes his board's response
16:20 Techlash, issues with journalism today, how Balaji-coronavirus story sparked response
24:52 Fixing journalism
28:00 New Twitter investors Elliot Management want Jack out as CEO, is Twitter broken?
30:00 Misconceptions of Lambda School rolling up ISAs, how privatizing education in SV causes techlash
40:33 Katherine explains her investments in the defense space
46:00 DoorDash files for IPO, did they miss their window?
47:30 Analyzing coronavirus, wet markets, the "Wuhan shake"
58:51 Robinhood outage as Dow jumps 1000 points
1:01:03 What does Katherine invest in?
1:04:41 Jason introduces his new soundboard
The State of Institutional Money & Crypto with Tagomi Co-Founder Marc Bhargava & COO Kevin Johnson
When Tagomi came out of stealth mode in 2018, the need for a crypto prime broker was a commonplace talking point in the digital asset world. An independent broker, sitting in between the spine-tingling market and investors, would help lure larger asset managers to bitcoin, pundits said. Indeed, two years later even Tagomi has been disappointed by the lack of asset managers in the market and their focus on best execution, although important, is no longer core. Still, even though the firm's conception of a crypto prime broker has changed, it sees other opportunities on the horizon.
In this episode of The Scoop we explore:
How the firm has adapted when the institutional wave of asset managers fell apart
How the notion of a crypto prime broker has changed since the company's founding
How Tagomi can serve traditional technology companies entering the market, such as Facebook Libra and Robinhood
Examine the on-boarding process for large institutional investors
Why the firm does not want to service retail clientele
Why the firm is bullish on Libra
E994: All Turtles CEO Phil Libin shares his state machine that answers all growth questions; Future of Early-Stage VC w/Pete Flint (NFX), Rebecca Lynn (Canvas Ventures), Dave Samuel (Freestyle Capital); plus LAUNCH Scale Partner Talk w/Lever CTO Nate Smith
1:03 Jason intros Phil Libin from LAUNCH Scale 2019
1:51 Phil Libin on "The State Machine that Answers All Growth Questions"
32:40 Jason joins Phil on stage for Q&A
39:56 Jason intros Phil (NFX), Rebecca (Canvas Ventures) & Dave (Freestyle Capital)
41:34 Transitioning from founder to VC
44:08 How to let a founder know when they are headed down the wrong path
47:42 At what stage does a founder have to change their mindset?
49:49 Dave Samuel on Airtable CEO Howie Liu not taking his advice and succeeding anyway
52:21 How Rebecca Lynn recruited current LendingClub CEO Scott Sanborn in the early days
55:39 Should startups still relocate to the Bay Area under any circumstances?
1:03:40 How are VCs dealing with the influx in the number of startups over the past 10 years?
1:13:23 LAUNCH Scale Partner Talk: Lever CTO Nate Smith
20VC: Phil Libin on Why The Concept of A Silicon Valley Style Startup Is Made To Benefit VCs, Why The Very Structure of Companies Is Outdated and Inefficient & What It Means To Build The Netflix of Product
Phil Libin is the Co-Founder & CEO @ All Turtles, the startup that believes they have a better way to make technology products, placing products first and companies later. Today they are building AI products in San Francisco, Paris and Tokyo. As for Phil, prior to All Turtles he was a Managing Director @ General Catalyst. Before that he spent 23 years founding different companies including founding Evernote, taking it from idea generation to productivity powerhouse raising over $160m in VC funding in the process, from some of the very best including Sequoia Capital. Phil is also an extremely successful angel with a portfolio including Gusto, TellApart and Binary Thumb just to name a few.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Phil made his way into the world of tech startups many years ago, how that led to his entering VC with General Catalyst and to now, founding All Turtles?
2.) How does Phil assess the state of Silicon Valley today? Why does Phil believe that Silicon Valley has been becoming increasingly redundant over the last 20 years? Why does Phil argue that the VC Silicon Valley model has been primarily effective at serving it's own needs? What needs to occur for this to change?
3.) Why does Phil argue that the balance of power between startups and incumbents is shifting for 5 core reasons? Why does Phil believe that the data incumbency argument with AI startups is largely overstated and a fear tactic? How does Phil believe people's attitude toward working for incumbents has been shifting over the last few years?
4.) Why does Phil believe that the concept of a "company" is fundamentally outdated? What is so broken about this model? What does Phil believe will be the model of the future for the world's best product creators? Why does the idea of a generalist VC in this model largely not make logical sense to Phil? What does Phil believe the future of VC is?
5.) Why does Phil believe that his time in VC has made him a better CEO than even his time in operations? What have been his core learnings? How has his operating mindset fundamentally shifted? Why does Phil argue the core role of the CEO is not management upscaling? Why does Phil argue it is wrong to assume the only mindset is growth?
Items Mentioned In Today's Show:
Phil's Fave Book: Clock of The Long Now
As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Phil on Twitter here!
Likewise, you can follow Harry on Instagram here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.
The rise of voice, evolution of VC, and why ads are awesome w/ Alexia and Niko Bonatsos
In our inaugural episode, we're joined by two notable investors, Alexia Bonatsos and Niko Bonatsos.
Alexia is the former co-editor-in-chief of TechCrunch and founder of a new venture fund, Dream Machine, where she helps founders “turn science fiction into non-fiction.”
Her husband, Niko is Managing Director at General Catalyst, a leading Silicon Valley venture firm with investments in companies like Airbnb, ClassPass, Snap, Gusto, Warby Parker and others.
In this episode we talk about:
The rise of voice. As Google Home, Amazon Echoes, AirPods, and other voice-enabled devices continue to proliferate, we’ll see user behavior shift – the same way touch screens have influenced young kids – and new opportunities arise for creative entrepreneurs.
The corrosive nature of behavior online, in part influenced by today’s advertising model, and potential solutions.
The evolution of venture capital, with the rise of micro VCs and accessibility of capital.
Of course, we’ll also cover some of our favorite products that you might not know about, including an app to help end mobile phone addiction, a new anonymous social network (the next Secret done right?), and an app that reminds you that you're going to die.
Products mentioned on the show:
Arthena – Quantitative research in art assets
Atrium – Legal services for startups, powered by ML
Casper – Casper is changing the way the world sleeps
Moment – Put down your phone and get back to your life
Nuzzel – The super-easy way to see news from your friends
October – A new social network built for anonymity
Omni – On-demand itemized physical storage
Rally Rd. – Invest in blue-chip classic cars like stocks
SleepCycle – A bio-alarm clock that analyzes your sleep pattern
Substack – Paid email newsletters made simple
The Wing – Co-working and community for professional women
Transit – Real-time transit data and a bot to help you commute
Truebill – Find your paid subscriptions and cancel with one click
WeCroak – An app to remind you of death
Big thanks to our sponsors, Airtable, GE Ventures, Intercom and Stripe for their support. 😸
20VC: General Catalyst's Hemant Taneja on Why We Are In A Golden Age For VC, Why Pro-Rata Is A Lazy Posture and Why He Does Not Focus On Price
Hemant Taneja is Managing Director @ General Catalyst, one of the world's leading venture firms of the last decade with Airbnb, Stripe, Snapchat, Hubspot and Gusto all in their portfolio. As for Hemant, he has led investments at GC in Stripe, SNAP, Grammarly, Gusto, Livongo, Color Genomics, Class Dojo and more. He also directs the GC Stripe Platform Fund, a $10 million initiative to help start new ventures that are built on top of the Stripe Connect platform. On the educational front, Hemant holds 5 degrees from MIT and sits on the board of Khan Academy.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Hemant made his way from 5 degrees at MIT and wanting to be an academic to pursuing startups in the world of VC with General Catalyst?
2.) Question from Sam @ ClassDojo: What were the hardest elements of establishing GC on the West Coast? With hindsight today, what would Hemant do differently given the chance? How does Hemant think about the development and ability to accelerate the creation of local reputation? What is crucial and works most effectively?
3.) How does Hemant respond to Elad Gil's "everyone is looking for the next truly deep dein to explore"? Why is Hemant so bullish that we are in the "golden age of venture capital"? Why does Hemant believe that "scale" as a key measure has run it's course? What does Hemant's thesis of the future of "unscaling" really mean?
4.) How does Hemant analyse price sensitivity in todays forthy environment? How has his relationship to price changed over time? With regards to price, what have been some of his biggest regrets and learnings drawn from real-world examples? How does Hemant assess reserve allocation? Why does he think pro-rata is a lazy posture?
5.) Hemant has said on boards for over 1,800 hours, so what does Hemant belive makes the truly special board members? How does Hemant think about first building that rapport and "intimacy" with the founder? Secondly, how important does Hemant believe it is to build similar relations with other board members? Which founder exemplifies the best board management in Hemant's mind?
Items Mentioned In Today's Show:
Hemant's Fave Book: Home Deus
Hemant's Most Recent Investment: Spring Discovery
As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Hemant on Twitter here!
Likewise, you can follow Harry on Instagram here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.
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