The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
Episodes
20VC: Why VCs Have Forgotten Their Job To Invest In Entrepreneurs not Technologists, How To Know When Growth Creates Value and When It Destroys It & How To Bootstrap Learning Most People Acquire Over Decades with 8VC Founding Partner, Drew Oetting
27 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Drew Oetting is a Founding Partner @ 8VC, one of Silicon Valley's youngest and most exciting new entrants to the VC market with $425m for their debut...
20VC: Benchmark's Eric Vishria on Why Career VCs Have Advantages Most Under Appreciate, Why We Are In An Infrastructure Renaissance & What Makes The Best VC Partnership
25 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Eric Vishria is a General Partner @ Benchmark, one of the world's leading VC funds with a portfolio including the likes of Twitter, Uber, Snapchat, ...
20VC: Raising Over $700m From The World's Best Investors, How To Innovate In Highly Regulated Markets & The 3 Superpowers of Insurance Companies with Mario Schlosser, Founder & CEO @ Oscar
22 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Mario Schlosser is the Founder & CEO @ Oscar, the startup that makes health insurance easy. They have raised over $700m in funding from some of the ...
20VC: Why Core AI Is Largely A Bunch of Nifty Tricks, Why Consumer Electronics Is The Hardest Thing To Do In Venture & Why Silicon Valley Will Dominate The Future of Robotics with Jeremy Conrad, Partner @ Lemnos Labs
20 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jeremy Conrad is a Partner @ Lemnos Labs, the fund that believes in the earliest stages of building hardware, every dollar counts, every hour matte...
20VC: Index's Mike Volpi on Making The Move From Player To Coach, What It Takes To Build Generation Defining Brands & How Europe Really Stacks Up To The US Venture Market
18 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Volpi is a General Partner @ Index Ventures, one of the world's leading venture funds with a portfolio including the likes of Facebook, Dropbox...
20VC: Litecoin Founder, Charlie Lee on Why ICO's Are The Biggest Threat To Crypto, Why Ethereum Will Run Into Huge Scalability Problems & How To Assess The Trade Off Between Decentralisation & Scale
15 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Charlie Lee is the creator of Litecoin, the most popular alternative currency to Bitcoin, which Charlie created as a side project in 2011 while work...
20VC: Why VC Is A Lifestyle Not A Job, Why You Must Do Post-mortems On Good and Bad Deals & Why Society Is On A Downgrade with Kathleen Utecht, Managing Partner @ Core Innovation Capital
13 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kathleen Utecht is a General Partner @ Core Innovation Capital, I would say one of the most under the radar but immensely exciting funds in market a...
20VC: USV's Andy Weissman on The Future of The VC Industry, Why USV Does Not Vote On Investment Decisions & Why VCs Should Be Invisible
11 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Andy Weissman is a Partner @ Union Square Ventures, one of the world's leading VC firms with investments in Twitter, Twilio, Zynga, Soundcloud, Tumb...
20VC: How To Run The Perfect Fundraising Process, Why Time Kills All Deals & Why You Have To Get VCs Out Of The Board Room with Wayne Chang, Serial Entrepreneur & Angel Investor
08 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Wayne Chang is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor. His latest company, Crashlytics, was acquired by Twitter in a 9-figure acquisition, its ...
20VC: Why Investors Have The Biggest Problem with Bias, Why Our Job Is To Maximise Risk & Why It Is Essential To Get Good at Losing with True Ventures Founder, Jon Callaghan
06 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jon Callaghan is a founder of True Ventures, one of the West Coast's leading early stage funds with a portfolio including the likes of Fitbit, recen...
20VC: True Ventures Founder, Phil Black on 4 Major Risk Categories for Startups, Why The Funding Gap Is At The "Rational B" Round & Why VCs Must Start Small But Think Big
04 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Phil Black is a founder of True Ventures, one of the West Coast's leading early stage funds with a portfolio including the likes of Fitbit, recent u...
20VC: What Is The Big Lie To Silicon Valley, Why Silicon Valley Is No Longer Optimised For Deep Tech Investing & Why AI Will Lead To More Business Model Innovation Than Technology Innovation with Tim Harris, Founder & CEO @ Swift Navigation
01 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Harris is the Founder & CEO @ Swift Navigation, the startup focused on building a world-class organization that will power the next generation o...
20VC: Why AI Is More Artificial Than Intelligent, Why Engineering-centric Founders Are Able To Pivot Best & Why Startups Are Like Games with Alina Cohen, General Partner @ Initialized Capital
30 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Alina Cohen is a General Partner @ Initialized Capital, one of Silicon Valleys leading early stage seed funds. Their portfolio includes the likes of...
20VC: The First ICO Blockchain Incubator Ever, Why ICO's Will Change The World of Venture As We Know It & How The M&A Market Will Respond To ICO's with Mike, Jones, Co-Founder @ Science Inc
28 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Jones is the Co-Founder & CEO @ Science Inc, one of America's most successful incubators with an incredible 3 Science Inc portfolio companies e...
20VC: Nuzzel's Jonathan Abrams on Why The Top VCs Do Not Have A PlayBook For Startup Success, Why Most Boards Are Not Successful & Why He Is Bored Of Hearing "I Fell Into VC"
25 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Abrams is the Founder and CEO @ Nuzzel, the startup that offers personalised news discovery and curated newsletters for busy professionals....
20VC: What Are The Big Questions Entrepreneurs & VCs Must Ask Corporate VCs, Why Corporate VCs Are Not Your Best Lead For Series A & Why The "You Have To Network Your Way To Us' Is Wrong with Allison Goldberg, Managing Director @ Time Warner Investments
23 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Allison Goldberg is a Managing Director & Senior Vice President @ Time Warner Investments, focusing on investment opportunities that directly enhan...
20VC: YC's Daniel Gross on How YC Can Democratise AI & Reduce Incumbency Advantages, Why ML Enabled Software Will Eat The Software That Ate The World & Whether AI Will Produce Independent Companies or Be Technology within Incumbents
21 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel Gross is a Partner @ Y Combinator, the world's most successful accelerator with alumni that includes the likes of Airbnb, Dropbox, Reddit, F...
20VC: What Larry Paige, Mary Meeker and Ben Horowitz All Have In Common, Why You Have To Build A Movement Not A Brand & Why This Really Is A Great Time To Be An Entrepreneur with Joey Zwillinger, Co-Founder @ Allbirds
18 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Joseph Zwillinger is the Founder @ Allbirds, the startup that makes the world's most comfortable shoes check this out, made out of wool. They have f...
20VC: How To Design Investment Decision Making That Allows For Outliers, Why Personal Voice Computing Is The Next Big Platform & The Challenges That Could Prevent It with David Beisel, Founding Partner @ NextView Ventures
16 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
David Beisel is a co-founder and Partner at NextView Ventures, one of the East Coast's leading early stage funds with their recent $50m seed fund be...
20VC: Jason Calacanis on The 4 Questions Investors Must Ask Founders, Whether YC Have Scaled Their Process Successfully & Why Early Founder Liquidity Is Good Not Bad
14 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jason Calacanis is arguably one of the world's greatest angel investors, as he says he has "got lucky" 7 times and counting with a portfolio that in...
20VC: Why Not Every Element of A Scalable Business Has To Scale, Why You Should Be Bearish on Retail & Why Fewer Businesses Are Getting Started Today Since The Great Depression with Brad Hargreaves, Founder & CEO @ Common
11 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Brad Hargreaves is the Founder & CEO @ Common, the startup that provides shared housing for those that live in common. They have raised over $20m in...
20VC: The 7 Requirements For Startup Scaling, Why VCs Must Approach Every Conversation with A Yes Mentality & Why We Will See The Humanisation of Technology with Renata Quintini, Partner @ Lux Capital
09 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Renata Quintini is a Partner @ Lux Capital, one of the leaders in the rise of deep tech investing supporting scientists and entrepreneurs providing ...
20VC: Why We Will Continue To See An Explosion In Deep Tech Financing, Why Much of Silicon Valley's Talent Is Going To Waste & How Fund Cycles Need To Be Adjusted To Work With Deep Tech with Seth Bannon, Founding Partner @ Fifty Years
07 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Seth Bannon is a Founding Partner at Fifty Years, a San Francisco seed fund that backs entrepreneurs solving the world's biggest problems with tech...
20VC: Coinbase's Brian Armstrong on The Rise & Short Term Correction in ICOs, The Regulatory Framework Required For Blockchain To Succeed & How The Rise of Blockchain Disrupts The VC Industry
04 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Armstrong is the Founder & CEO @ Coinbase, the startup that provides the world's most popular way to buy and sell bitcoin, ethereum and lit...
20VC: When Should CEOs Ask Their VC For Help, When Do Companies Really Need A Board & What The Series A Expansion Means For Startups with Max Gazor, General Partner @ CRV
02 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Max Gazor is a General Partner @ CRV, one of the nation's oldest and most successful VC firms now on their 16th fund and with a prior portfolio con...
20VC: What Metrics LPs Really Use To Measure Manager Success, Why 10 Year Fund Structures Really Do Not Work & Why Venture Is So Similar To The Movie Business with Will Porteous, General Partner @ RRE Ventures
31 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Will Porteous is the General Partner & COO @ RRE Ventures, one of New York's leading venture funds with investments in the likes of Buzzfeed, The Hu...
20VC: Construct Your Fundraising Process To Get 3 Term Sheets in 36 Hours, Why Slow and Steady Can Be Best For Startups & Why All Startups Must Know Their Zero Cash Day with Nathan Wenzel, Founder & CEO @ SimpleLegal
28 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Nathan Wenzel is the Founder & CEO @ SimpleLegal, the startup that helps legal operations reduce legal spend and improve operational efficiency. Th...
20VC: Why YC Is The Exact Opposite of Proprietary Deal Flow, Why Having No Follow On Dramatically Aligns Incentives & Why Founders Do Not Have To Be Passionate About Their Idea From The Start with Michael Ma, Founding Partner @ Liquid 2 Ventures
26 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Ma is a Founding Partner @ Liquid 2 Ventures, one of San Francisco's younger and more exciting seed funds, also unique in having Hall of Fam...
20VC: Investing $200m In Facebook, The 3 Stages of Founder Development & Why Creating A New User Behaviour Can Be Unit Economics Inefficient with Rahul Mehta, Managing Partner @ DST
24 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Rahul Mehta is a Managing Partner @ DST, one of the world's leading late stage venture funds with a portfolio including the likes of Facebook, Twit...
20VC: The 2 Types of Sexism & How They Play Out In Tech, Why You Should Not Always Get Customers To Pay For Your Product Immediately & Why You Must Ask Operator VCs Different Questions To Non-Operator VCs with Jenna Brown, Founder & CEO, Shipamax
21 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jenna Brown is the Founder & CEO @ Shipamax, a data driven communications platform for brokers and operators. They recently raised their seed round ...
20VC: Why It Is BS That You Never Regret Paying A High Price To Get Into A Good Company, Why There Are Only 2 Price Points That Work in SaaS and Why eSports Will Be Bigger Than Traditional Sports in 5 Years Time with Jason Pressman @ Shasta Ventures
19 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jason Pressman is a Managing Director @ Shasta Ventures who have made investments in the likes of Nest, Dollar Shave Club, Smule, Class Dojo and mo...
20VC: VC of The Year: Forerunner's Kirsten Green on 2 $Bn+ Exits in 1 Year, Why We Are In The Very Early Innings For Commerce & How Brand Has Fundamentally Changed Over The Last Decade
17 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsten Green is the Founding General Partner @ Forerunner Ventures, where she has raised over $250M from leading investors and has invested in more...
20VC: Max Levchin on What Makes A Truly Great CEO, Why Self-Awareness Is The Most Important Trait For Entrepreneurs & Why When There Is Doubt There Is No Doubt
14 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Max Levchin is the Founder & CEO @ Affirm, the company that aims to remake consumer finance from the ground up. They have backing from some of the b...
20VC: The Blurring of Early & Late Stage, Why Your Go To Market Strategy Is More Important Now Than Ever & Why Venture Is The Academia Of Tech with Roseanne Wincek @ IVP
12 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Roseanne Wincek is an investor with IVP, one of the leaders in growth financing with a portfolio including the likes of Snap, AppDynamics, SuperCell...
20VC: Benchmark's Mitch Lasky on The Snapchat Journey From Series A to IPO, Why Small Is Beautiful In Venture Partnerships & Why Venture Is Very Much Like Hollywood
10 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Mitch Lasky is a General Partner @ Benchmark, one of the world's leading VC funds with a portfolio including the likes of Twitter, Uber, Snapchat, ...
20VC: Why Radical Candor Is Crucial in Workplaces, Why 85% of Work Relationship Mistakes Happen and Why You Should Not Try and Be More Likeable with Kim Scott, Co-Founder @ Candor Inc
07 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kim Scott is the Co-Founder @ Candor, the startup that allows you to become a better leader. Prior to founding Candor, Kim was a CEO coach at Dropb...
20VC: How To Get Back To 200 Tech IPOs Per Year, Why We Are In A 'Bulge" Not A Bubble & The Impending Flat & Down Rounds To Come with Barry Schuler, Partner @ DFJ Growth
05 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Barry Schuler is a Partner @ DFJ Growth, the team that seeks out companies that have gone through the early stages of funding and are category leade...
20VC: Kleiner Perkins GP, Eric Feng on How The Best Funds Use Tech and Data To Find Companies, Why Entrepreneurs Start The Fire and VCs Add The Rocket Fuel & Why Consumer Is Harder Than Ever Today
03 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Eric Feng is a Partner @ Kleiner Perkins, one of the world's leading venture capital firms with prior investments in the likes of Google, Amazon, Sn...
20VC: Why You Do Not Want Diversity Of Thought, Why You Have To Build A Sports Team and Not A Family & Why Extreme Cultures Are Easier For People To Understand with Ari Mir, Founder @ Clutter
30 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ari Mir is the Founder @ Clutter, the startup that provides simple, painless solutions to your storage problems. They have raised over $90m in VC f...
20VC: Bessemer's Ethan Kurzweil on How To View Pattern Recognition and Deal With The Anti-Portfolio, The Next Frontier In Developer Focussed Businesses & Why eSports Is Interesting Again
28 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ethan Kurzweil is a Partner @ Bessemer Venture Partners, one of the world leading venture funds with prior investments including the likes of Skype,...
20VC: Bessemer's Jeremy Levine on Why We Are In A Fallow Period For Consumer, Why It Is Bogus That Operational VCs Can Add More Value & 2 Golden Rules To Always Tell Entrepreneurs Pre-Investment
26 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jeremy Levine is a Partner @ Bessemer Venture Partners, one of the world's leading venture funds with prior investments in the likes of Skype, Shopi...
20VC: Why Every CEO's Goal Should Be To Be The Laziest CEO, The Benefits of Being Both Founder and Investor At The Same Time & Why Every CEO Should Try A CEO Coach with Bart Lorang, Founder & CEO @ Full Contact
23 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Bart Lorang is the Founder & CEO @ FullContact, the leading contact platform for professionals, teams and businesses. They have raised over $45m i...
20VC: Elad Gil on Becoming One of Silicon Valleys Top Angels, Why Most People Get Market Sizing Wrong & Should VC Services Always Be Bundled Together?
21 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Elad Gil is the Founder of Color Genomics, however, Elad is also one of the most prominent angel investors in the valley with a portfolio inclu...
20VC: Benchmark's Peter Fenton on How To Differentiate Between Good & Great VCs, Why Ownership Is A Bigger Determinant Of Returns Than Valuation & What Makes A Truly Exceptional Board Member
19 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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, ...
20VC: Is Series B Really The Hardest To Raise? Should The Only Limiting Factor Post Series B Be Cash & When Is The Right Time To Move To The US with Nicolas Dessaigne, Founder & CEO @ Algolia
16 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Nicolas Dessaigne is the Founder & CEO @ Algolia, the most reliable platform for building search into your business. Just last week they raised $53m...
20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds
14 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Tony Conrad is a Partner @ True Ventures, one of the leading early stage funds on the West Coast with a portfolio including the likes of Automattic,...
20VC: Kevin Rose on Putting The Entire Fund Into Uber, The Future For Mobile & Whether Angels Should Have Super Pro-Rata Rights?
12 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kevin Rose is a Venture Partner @ True Ventures, one of the leading early stage funds on the West Coast with portfolio companies including the likes...
20VC: Evernote CEO on Why You Play For The Front of Your Jersey Not The Back, Why Success Is A Team Sport & Why Leadership Should Accept The Negative Consequences In All Situations
09 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Chris O'Neill is the CEO @ Evernote, the productivity powerhouse allowing millions of users around the world to remember everything. They have raised ...
20VC: Why Cheque Size & Follow On Decision-Making Does Not Matter, Why Intelligence Is Overrated & Why You Should Do Everything You Can To Make Other People Successful with Anthony Pompliano, Founding Partner @ Full Tilt Capital
07 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony Pompliano is the General Partner @ Full Tilt Capital, the firm that wants to reinvent friends and family investingby democratizing access t...
20VC: Founders Fund's Brian Singerman on Why VC Is About Upside Maximisation Not Downside Minimisation, Why There Is No Right Way To Do Venture and Why They Do Not Have Monday Morning Partner Meetings At Founders Fund
05 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Singerman is a Partner @ Founders Fund, one of the world's most prestigious and successful VC funds with prior investments in the likes of Face...
20VC: Trivago Founder on Why Incumbents Have Lost Their Main Business Model, Why You Have To Destroy Everything Ego Related & Why Transparency Is The Key To Capital Flow
02 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Rolf Schrömgens is the Co-Founder and Managing Director @ Trivago, the world's top hotel price comparison site. In 2012, Expedia acquired 62% of Tri...
20VC: How Both Founders & GPs Should Construct Their Pitch, Why VCs Are Eternal Optimists & What Makes The Best Post-Investment VC/Founder Relationship with Brian Ascher, Partner @ Venrock
31 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Ascher is a Partner @ Venrock, a leading fund with prior investments including Nest, Dollar Shave Club, AppNexus and many more. At Venrock, Bria...
20VC: Kleiner Perkins' MZ Zaveri on Why Success In Venture Is About The 3 F's, How VCs Can Manage Deal Heat & Is There Too Much Venture Dollars At Seed
29 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
MZ Zaveri is a Partner @ Kleiner Perkins, one of the world's most prestigious venture funds with prior investments in the likes of Google, Amazon, Twi...
20VC: Tinder's Sean Rad on Why Humility Is The Key Trait For Founders To Have, Why Today's Incumbents Are Stronger Than Any Before Them & How Leaders Need To Scale With The Scaling Of Their Company
26 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Sean Rad is the Founder & Chairman @ Tinder, the world's most popular app for connecting with new and interesting people around you. Every single day ...
20VC: The Biggest Indicators Of Success In Founding Teams, How To Balance Both Vision and Operations & Taking Money From "The Man At The Rug Store" with Mar Hershenson, Founding Managing Partner @ Pear.vc
24 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Mar Hershenson is a Founding Managing Partner @ Pear.vc alongside Pejman Nozad. After earning a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford Universi...
20VC: Founders Fund's Kevin Hartz on Why Investing In Silicon Valley Is Broken & Why Fearlessness Is What Makes The Truly Great Investors
22 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kevin Hartz is a Partner @ Founders Fund, one of the world's most prestigious and successful VC funds with prior investments in the likes of Facebook,...
20VC: The Future Business Model For Drones & Why Enterprise Drones Need To Be As Boring As Possible with Jonathan Downey, Founder & CEO @ Airware
19 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Downey is the Founder & CEO @ Airware, the startup that allows you to make better-informed decisions with aerial date, captured by drones. Th...
20VC: Why It Is Good Company Funding Has Been Down 6 Quarters In A Row, Why Unanimity Does Not Work In VC Decision-Making & Why It Is Dangerous To Be A Spreadsheet Investor with Scott Raney, Partner @ Redpoint Ventures
17 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Raney is a Partner @ Redpoint Ventures, one of the valley's leading multi-stage funds with over 434 investments, close to $4bn in assets under ...
20VC: Khosla's Keith Rabois on How To Create Sustainability Behind Growth, How To Assess The Potential Of Individuals & Teams & The Biggest Takeaways from LinkedIn, Paypal & Square
15 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Keith Rabois is an investment partner at Khosla Ventures where he has led investments in Stripe, Thoughtspot, HealthTap and Teespring among many othe...
20VC: Building Shopify From $5m To IPO, Why The Future Of Retail Is Not Online vs Offline & Why Law School Is Like Finishing School For Entrepreneurs with Harley Finkelstein, COO @ Shopify
12 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Harley Finkelstein is the COO @ Shopify, the e-commerce platform that has allowed a generation of people to become entrepreneurs and business owners. ...
20VC: The 3 Forms Of Edge A Founder Can Have, Lessons From Being on A Board With Bill Gates & Why There Are A Lot Of Tourist VCs Who Are Going To Lose A Lot Of Money, with Josh Wolfe, Co-Founder @ Lux Capital
10 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Josh Wolfe is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner @ Lux Capital, the fund that supports scientists and entrepreneurs who pursue counter-conventional s...
20VC: Harry Stebbings on The Biggest Takeaways From Interviewing The World's Best Investors, What Makes A Truly Great Interview & Some Big News... with Mattias Ljungman, Co-Founder & General Partner @ Atomico
08 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Mattias Ljungman is a Co-Founder and General Partner @ Atomico, one of Europe's leading VC funds which Mattias launched in 2006 alongside Niklas Zenns...
20VC: Why We Are Still In The Very Early Days For Fintech, Why Your Company Has To Have An Opinionated Culture & Why The CEO Should Not Be The Sole Point Of Contact With The Board with Bill Clerico, Founder & CEO @ WePay
05 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Bill Clerico is the Co-Founder & CEO @ WePay, the most complete payments solution for platforms. To date, they have raised close to $75m in VC funding...
20VC: How LPs Can Add Strategic Value To Portfolio Companies & Why Real Estate Is On Every Whiteboard In Silicon Valley with Brendan Wallace, Co-Founder @ Fifth Wall
03 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Brendan Wallace is a Co-Founder of Fifth Wall, the fund that specializes in technology for the built world and real estate tech. Prior to Fifth Wall,...
20VC: Explosion of First Time Funds, Only 1 Mega Fund Raised: What The Heck Happened in Q1 Venture Markets with Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director @ Sapphire Ventures
01 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Beezer Clarkson is Managing Director @ Sapphire Ventures where she leads Sapphire's investments in venture funds domestically and internationally. Pr...
20VC: Why Move Fast and Break Things Is Not Right, How To Instil Radical Candor In Your Organisation & What Founders Must Ask For From Their Investors with Jason Brown, Founder & CEO @ Tally
28 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jason Brown is the Founder & CEO @ Tally, the startup that is building a better credit card experience giving power to the consumer. They have investm...
20VC: 2 Signs That A Company Is Ready For IPO, Why Fund Cycles Are Too Short & Why Management Teams Do Not Want To Go Public with Gene Frantz, General Partner @ CapitalG
26 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Gene Frantz is a Partner of CapitalG, Alphabet's growth investment fund which has investments in the likes of Airbnb, Snap Inc and Stripe. As for Gen...
20VC: Inside Google's Growth Fund & The 3 Criteria They Look For With Potential Investments with Laela Sturdy, General Partner @ CapitalG
24 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Laela Sturdy is a Partner @ CapitalG, Alphabet's growth investment fund that have invested in the likes of Stripe, Snap Inc, Airbnb and many more incr...
20VC: Back To Back Female Led IPOs & Why It's Harder To Be A Female CEO Than A Male CEO with Leura Fine, Founder & CEO @ Laurel & Wolf
21 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Leura Fine is the founder and CEO of leading online interior design service Laurel & Wolf. Driven by the desire to connect clients and designers thro...
20VC: Investing; A Game Of Access Or Picking, Why Technical DD At Seed Is Irrelevant & Why A Contrarian Mindset Does Not Always Lead To Optimal Returns with Leo Polovets, Co-Founder & General Partner @ Susa Ventures
19 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Leo Polovets is a Co-Founder and General Partner @ Susa Ventures, one of the west coast's most exciting new seed funds. They have investments in the l...
20VC: Can Founders Really Trust Their VC & How To Navigate The Acquisition Process Successfully with Josh Felser, Co-Founder @ Freestyle.vc
17 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Josh Felser is a Co-Founder and General Partner at Freestyle, one of SF's leading early stage seed funds with investments in the likes of About.me, Ai...
20VC: How Investors Can Get Into The Best Deals & Why Founders First Point Of Contact Should Be With The Investment Decision-Maker with Spencer Kimball, Founder & CEO @ Cockroach Labs
14 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Spencer Kimball is the Founder & CEO @ Cockroach Labs, the open-source database for building global, scalable cloud services that survive disasters....
20VC: Why Young VCs Must Have Cheque Writing Ability & Why Corporate VC Is The Best Training Ground For New VCs with Nagraj Kashyap @ Microsoft Ventures
12 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Nagraj Kashyap is the Head of Microsoft Ventures, the early stage investment arm of Microsoft. They have made investments in the likes of Cahoot, Clou...
20VC: AngelList's Naval Ravikant on The Secrets To Success At Seed, Why Micro VC Is The Return of Traditional Series A & Why We Will See The Unbundling Of Traditional VC Brands
10 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Naval Ravikant is the CEO and a co-founder of AngelList, where the world meets startups either to find great jobs, invest in startups or raise fundi...
20VC: How To Create FOMO For Investors, How To Manage VC Conversations & A Repeatable Process For Learning New Things with Anna Shedletsky, Founder & CEO @ Instrumental.ai
07 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Anna Shedletsky is the Founder & CEO @ Instrumental, the startup that helps consumer electronics companies ship high-quality hardware, on time. They h...
20VC: Why Spray & Pray Investing Is Wrong, Why Data-Informed VC Beats Data Driven VC & What To Look For When Investing In A Marketplace with Josh Breinlinger, Managing Director @ Jackson Square Ventures
05 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Josh Breinlinger is a Managing Director @ Jackson Square Ventures where he has made investments in the likes of Contently, OfferUp and rented.com, ju...
20VC: Homebrew's Hunter Walk on Why There Is No Series A Crunch, How To Package Portfolio Companies For The Next Round & Why The Bridge Round Is Not Always A Negative Sign?
03 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Hunter Walk is a founding partner @ Homebrew, one of Silicon Valley's breakout seed funds of the last 5 years. They have investments in the likes of S...
20VC: Why Every Founder Should Bootstrap Their Startup, How To Solve Information Asymmetry Between Founders and VCs & Living In A Cupboard For Two Years To Fund StyleSeat with Melody McCloskey, Founder & CEO @ StyleSeat
31 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Melody McCloskey is the Founder & CEO @ StyleSeat, the largest and fastest growing marketplace in the $78b beauty and wellness industry. They have ra...
20VC: How Investors Can Get Into The Best Y Combinator Startups & How YC Startups Should Choose The Right Investors with Jared Friedman, Partner @ YC
29 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jared Friedman is a Partner @ Y Combinator, the world's most successful accelerator with portfolio companies including the likes of AirBnB, Dropbox, S...
20VC: How Investors Can Build Relationships with Founders In Organic, Non-Transactional Ways & How VCs Should Handle Founder Disputes with Saar Gur, General Partner @ CRV
27 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Saar Gur is a General Partner @ CRV, one of the nation's oldest and most successful VC firms now on their 16th fund. At CRV, Saar has made investments...
20VC: How To Raise $200m In Any Economic Climate, Scale From Garage To Global In Record Time & The Biggest Startup You Have Not Heard About with Christian Lanng, Founder & CEO @ Tradeshift
24 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Christian Lanng is the Founder & CEO @ Tradeshift, the startup with the vision to transform the way businesses work together. With 250+ people, offic...
20VC: How Every VC Firm Is A Marketplace, Why A Large Amount of Promise in AI Today Is Impossible & Entrepreneurs 3 Main Pain Points of Fundraising with Alex Mittal, Founder & CEO @ Funders Club
22 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Alex Mittal is the Founder & CEO @ Funders Club, the company that uses software and networks to provide investors with access to the world's most prom...
20VC: SaaStr's Jason Lemkin on The 3 Things You Want From Your LPs, Why Most VCs Do Not Add Value & Why The Best VCs Know How To Package Startups For The Next Round
20 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jason Lemkin is the Founder @ SaaStr, now with the $70m SaaStr Fund, Jason has paved the way for the new wave of VC in what I describe the 'platformif...
20VC: Why Success in Gaming is Like Success in VC, The Key To Building An Enduring Game & Why Few Metrics Matter in Gaming with Kevin Chou, Founder & CEO @ Kabam
17 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kevin Chou is co-founder and CEO of Kabam, a world leader in mobile free-to-play games. At Kabam, Kevin catapulted revenue to $400 million and a valua...
20VC: Sequoia Partner, Carl Eschenbach on Building and Scaling High Performace Teams and The Common Mistakes In Scaling A Go-To-Market Strategy
15 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Carl Eschenbach is a Partner @ Sequoia Capital, one of the world's leading funds with investments in the likes of Google, Apple, Whatsapp, Paypal and ...
20VC: Sequoia Partner, Pat Grady on Why Data Is The New Oil, Why We Will See The Return of The Apprenticeship Model in VC & The Defining Characteristics of The Next Generation of Great Software
13 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Pat Grady is a Partner @ Sequoia Capital, one of the world's leading funds with prior investments in the likes of Apple, Google, Whatsapp, Paypal, Str...
20VC: Wealthfront and Benchmark's Andy Rachleff on Why Delight Is The Greatest Form Of Virality, Why Competition Does Not Matter & What The Future Holds For Automated Personal Finance
10 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
From 1995 until 2004 Andy Rachleff was a co-founder and General Partner of Benchmark Capital, who have backed the likes of Twitter, Snapchat, Dropbox,...
20VC: Why Valuation Is Of Critical Importance At Seed, How To Understand Innovation Cycles & Having 3 CEOs and Burning $10m a Month with Lee Hower, Co-Founder @ NextView Ventures
08 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Lee Hower is a co-founder and Partner at NextView Ventures, one of the East coast's leading early stage funds with investments in the likes of Dia & C...
20VC: Betaworks' John Borthwick on Why The VC Model Is So Inefficient, Why Venture Fund Cycles Are Too Short & Why Frontier Tech Could Only Have Been Disappointing Over The Last Year
06 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
John Borthwick is the Founder & CEO @ Betaworks, the New York-based startup platform combining 3 areas of expertise. They have a studio where they hav...
20VC: Why Product Market Fit Is Like Porn, How The Entrance of Facebook and Google Into Enterprise Software Effects Traditional Enterprise Companies & The Future Pricing Model For The Enterprise with Dennis Mortensen, Founder @ X.ai
03 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Dennis Mortensen is the CEO and Founder of X.ai, the artificial intelligence driven personal assistant that lets people schedule meetings using plain...
20VC: The Power Of A Concentrated Seed Portfolio, Why Operational Value Add Models At Seed Do Not Make Sense & Why We Will See A Shakeout Of Growth Stage Investors with Roger Ehrenberg, Founder & Managing Partner @ IA Ventures
01 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Roger Ehrenberg is the Founder and Managing Partner @ IA Ventures, one of New York's leading early stage funds with investments in the likes of Transf...
20VC: Benchmark's Scott Belsky on What Makes Truly The Best VCs? Why Entrepreneurs Must Focus on 'The First Mile' & The Key Ingredients To The Perfect Onboarding Process
27 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Belsky is a Venture Partner @ Benchmark, one of the world's leading VC funds. As an early-stage investor himself he has made investments in the ...
20VC: Raising $24m From The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Why EdTech Is So Misunderstood & Why The Future Of Work Is Decentralised with Andela's Jeremy Johnson
24 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jeremy Johnson is the Founder & CEO @ Andela, the startup that aims to bring a scientific approach to building engineering teams. They have backing fr...
20VC: Why Venture Is A Service Product? Why There Is No Such Thing As Product Market Fit & Why Startups Need To Be More Design Orientated with Ben Blumenfeld, Co-Founder & General Partner @ Designer Fund
22 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ben Blumenfeld is the Co-Founder & General Partner @ Designer Fund, they invest in startups co-founded by designers and build and educate design teams...
20VC: Pejman Nozad: Tech's Most Unlikely VC: From Yoghurt Shop To Investing In Startups Now Worth $20Bn+
20 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Pejman Nozad is the Founding Managing Partner @ Pear.vc, one of the leading seed stage funds in the valley. However, Pejman did not enter the tech ind...
20VC: Why Founders Should Not Focus On Top Line Valuation, Why Capital Efficiency Is Key To Returns And Investment Success & Why Despite Popular Thought, $100m Is An Exciting Exit For VC with Micah Rosenbloom, Managing Partner @ Founder Collective
15 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Micah Rosenbloom is Managing Partner @ Founder Collective, one of the leading seed funds in the world with investments in Uber, Buzzfeed, Makerbot, Pi...
20VC: Why We Are Valuation & Ownership Insensitive, Why We Do Not Take Board Seats & The Effects Of The Series A Crunch with Topher Conway, Co-Managing Partner @ SV Angel
13 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Topher Conway is a Co-Managing Partner of SV Angel, one of Silicon Valley's leading seed funds with investments in the likes of Facebook, AirBnB, Twit...
20VC: How Startups & VCs Can Build Relationships with Potential Corporate Acquirers? The Challenge Of Operating Both A B2B & B2C Business Model & Why Fundraising Is The One Element Founders Cannot Control with Gautam Gupta, Founder & CEO @ NatureBox
10 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Gautam Gupta is the Founder & CEO at NatureBox, the startup that allows consumers to discover new & healthy foods through a monthly subscription servi...
20VC: The Radical Changes In Public Market Expectations, The Right Way To Assess Valuation & What It Means To Be A Disciplined & Diligent Investor with Randy Glein, Partner @ DFJ Growth
08 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Randy Glein is a Co-Founder & Partner @ DFJ Growth where he looks to partner with entrepreneurs that have achieved market validation and are looking t...
20VC: What Does It Take To Gain A Late Stage Cheque Today? The Fundamental Mistakes CEOs Make In The Scaling Process & The Importance Of Building The Next S Curve For Founders with Jules Maltz, General Partner @ IVP
06 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jules Maltz, is a General Partner @ Insight Venture Partners (IVP) where he has made investments in the likes of Slack, Zendesk, Twitter, Zenefits and...