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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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. 😸
20 VC: Niko Bonatsos on Startup Valuations
It is a great pleasure to have Niko Bonatsos on today's episode of The Twenty Minute VC. Niko is Principal at General Catalyst Partners where he specialises in mobile, consumer and healthcare technology. At General Catalyst Partner, Niko has been involved in the investments in the likes of Snapchat, TuneIn and SpoonRocket, just to name a few. Niko is also reknowned for being the 1st Angel Investor in Yik Yak, recently valued between $300-400 million.
In today's episode you will learn:
How Niko made the jump into the world of Venture Capital?
What were the fundamental lessons Niko learned when his startup failed?
Why Niko prefers to invest in founding teams instead of individual founders?
How Niko determines whether a startup will be successful or not? What Niko looks for in startups?
Does Niko ever experience FOMO (fear of missing out) on an investment?
How do you value a company, in particular a startup with no revenue?
Does Niko think Silicon Valley will continue to be the dominant hub for innovation and investment?
What parts of the world have seen large growth in both funding and innovation?
What Niko would advise graduates looking to make the entry into the Venture Capital industry?
What is the best piece of business advice Niko has ever received?
We then move onto a quick fire round where Niko tells us his thoughts on the future of education technology and the primary reason Niko says no to startups.
For all the resources mentioned in today's show, check out www.thetwentyminutevc.com
We would love to hear from you. If you have any questions you would like to ask the VCs, drop us an email at harry@thetwentyminutevc.com
Likewise if you have a VC you would like us to interview, send us an email and we will arrange it.