David Fialkow

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

David Fialkow

Co-Founder and Managing Director

General Catalyst

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.   ------   This episode is brought to you by Canalyst. Canalyst is the leading destination for public company data and analysis. If you've been scrambling to keep up with the deluge of IPOs and SPACs these days, Canalyst has models on Robinhood, Marqeta, Grab, and everything in between. Learn more and try Canalyst for yourself at canalyst.com/patrick.   ------   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".   ------   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

David Fialkow

Co-Founder and Managing Director

General Catalyst