20VC: Most Downloaded Episode of 2017: Peter Fenton, General Partner @ Benchmark
Show notes
Peter Fenton is a General Partner @ Benchmark, one of the world's leading VC funds with a portfolio including the likes of Twitter, Uber, Snapchat, eBay, WeWork, Yelp and many more revolutionary companies of the last decade. Peter himself sits or has sat on the board of Twitter, previous guest Cockroach, Optimizely, New Relic and ZenDesk just to name a few. Prior to Benchmark, Peter was a Managing Partner @ Accel. It is clearly not just me that has a man crush on Peter though as he has been named to Forbes Midas List for many consecutive years with the last list placing Peter as No 3 in the world. In Today's Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How Peter made his way into the world of VC with Accel and came to be a General Partner @ Benchmark? 2.) How does Peter differentiate between the good and the great VCs? How can VCs use hyper-curiosity and hyper-competitiveness to improve their investing ability? Why does Peter not believe that operational experience is a necessity pre-VC? 3.) How does Peter view the importance of valuation in the investment decision making process? How much of a role does it play for him and what is his psychology around valuation, especially with regards to ownership levels? 4.) Why is Peter amused when he hears other investors say they must 'invest in big markets'? What were his big takeaways from watching the investment and hyper-growth journey of Snapchat? How did that influence his view on markets? 5.) Peter has previously said that he is a 'student of great board members'. What are the commonalities among the truly great board members? How do they engage and interact with the entrepreneur? How do they get the most out of their fellow board members? Items Mentioned In Today's Show: Peter's Most Recent Investment: Zen.ly As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Peter on Twitter here! Likewise, you can follow Harry on Snapchat here for mojito madness and all things 20VC. Namely is the all-in-one HR, payroll, and benefits platform your employees will love to use. It's as intuitive as social media, but powerful enough to support the complexity of today's workforce. Namely's mission is to help mid-sized companies build a better workplace. See how Namely can transform your workplace at www.Namely.com. Eero is the world's best-reviewed wifi. A system of eero and eero Beacons wirelessly connects to blanket your home in fast, reliable WiFi, so despite the increased number of devices with Christmas coming, you'll still be able to get powerful mesh WiFi in every nook and cranny of your home, backyard included. No more dead spots, slow spots, drop-offs, or buffering — right out of the box. Eero is only available in the US and Canada and you can check it out here!
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