#002 Benchmark Capital

There are a few companies that define a decade of startup investing. In the 1990s, it was eBay. In the 2010s, it was Uber. While these seem like completely different business models today, they rely on a similar theme around network effects that are at the core of the investment thesis of the VC firm we’re going to talk about today: Benchmark.  Benchmark has solidified itself as one of the greatest and most consistent venture capital firms of the last 30 years, defined by its seventh fund, which returned somewhere around 20-25x to its LPs, and its first fund, which returned at least 50x to LPs, potentially even 92x, making it most likely the greatest returning venture multiple of its size and scale.  Today, we’re going to talk about why Benchmark invested in decade-defining companies like eBay and Uber and another notable win that has many lessons to learn from in Riot Games. As our traditional format follows, we’re going to investigate why Benchmark invested in these companies, what their general investment theses are, what they look for in founders, how you as a founder can position yourself to raise capital from Benchmark, and lastly, we will take a look at some HUGE misses they’ve had throughout their near immaculate journey. More All Things VC: To read this podcast in an abbreviated format, check out the substack: All Things VC. It has the same content as the podcast, just a little more direct with less improv. To read more about Benchmark along with 15 other companies they invested in that we didn't discuss, more on their general investment theses, what makes a good VC, what they look for in founders, and general advice for founders, head to allthingsvc.blog to read more. You can also follow me on X at Justin_Pryor_ for more nuggets of information that I post throughout the week based on what I talked about in this episode. Likewise, you can find All Things VC on YouTube to see clips of these episode separated by each major topic I discuss. Chapters: Why did Benchmark invest in eBay? - 6:15 mark Why did Benchmark invest in Uber? - 24:06 mark Why did Benchmark invest in Riot Games? - 56:48 mark The Anti-Portfolio - 1:11:12 mark

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