20VC: Index's Shardul Shah on Why Market Size is a Trap | Biggest Lessons on Pricing from Leading Rounds in Wiz & Datadog | Why Benchmarks & Averages in VC are BS | How Index Makes Decisions and Why Growth & Early are the Same Investing Style
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The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
50 min
2 speakers
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The lessons to learn are don't be cute on price. Don't underestimate fantastic founders and don't overthink it. TAM is a trap. Go back and look at the S1s of some of the biggest public companies today. Their market caps are bigger than what they thought the TAM would be. The best founders find and expand market opportunities. We are in the business of finding fund returners. The power law dominates our business. Not being in a $10, $20, $50, $100 billion company is actually painful.
This is 20VC with me, Harry Stebbings, and I'm so excited to welcome today one of the best investors of the last 20 years. Few VCs have not one, but two $20 billion plus companies to their name. Shardul Shah, partner at Index Ventures and one of the best cyber investors in the business. Shardul has led rounds in Datadog, Wiz, Coalition, Duo Security, and many more incredible names. This is an incredible discussion on investing lessons from the last 16 years at Index. But before we dive in, when a promising startup files for an IPO or a venture capital firm loses its marquee partner, being the first to know gives you an advantage and time to plan your strategic response. Chances are the information reported it first.
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It really is a must. And finally, a company is nothing without its people, and so I want to talk about Cooley, the global law firm built around startups and venture capital. Since forming the first venture fund in Silicon Valley, Cooley has formed more venture capital funds than any other law firm in the world, with 60 plus years working with VCs. They help VCs form and manage funds, make investments, and handle the myriad issues that arise through a fund's lifetime. We use them at 20 VC and have loved working with their teams in the US, London and Asia over the last few years. So to learn more about the number one most active law firm representing VC-backed companies going public, head over to cooley.com and also cooleygo.com, Cooley's award-winning free legal resource for entrepreneurs. You have now arrived at your destination. Shardul, dude, it has been so long since we did our last chat. I have aged incessantly, but thank you so much for joining me today, my friend.
Thanks for having me back. Tell me, in all of the time you've spent interviewing so many people, what's the number one lesson you've learned? There's no right way to de-adventure.
After 2,700 shows, I've learned that one of the biggest mistakes people make is they try and copy someone's style. Totally. That's not authentically theirs and think that's the right one. And actually it's about finding where you are uniquely great in the three pillars of venture, sourcing, selecting, and servicing, and really leaning into one over others. Actually, that's been my biggest lesson.
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