Show notes
Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape.This week we are joined by Geoff Lewis, Co-Founder and Managing partner of Bedrock Capital. Many in the industry know Geoff and Bedrock for their investing in non-consensus companies and founders, and in particular, for popularizing the notion of investing in narrative violations.Founded in 2018 with Eric Stromberg, Bedrock has $1B+ in AUM. Their portfolio companies include Cameo, Plaid, Flock Safety, among others.About Geoff Lewis:Geoff was named as one of the Top 100 Venture Capitalists in the world by CB Insights and The New York Times.Before Bedrock, Geoff was a Partner at Founders Fund for over five years. He was amongst the first to lead sizable early-stage venture rounds in companies including Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT), Wish, Privateer Holdings (NASDAQ: TLRY), Nubank, and RigUp. Geoff was also an operator as Co-Founder and CEO of Topguest, a loyalty software platform that counted United Airlines, Hilton Worldwide, and Virgin America as clients. Geoff received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen’s University at Kingston, Canada.Our sponsors:At Brex, we build financial software and services to help startups scale faster. We understand that founders need to focus on building, not banking. So we’ve reimagined traditional financial systems to enable greater speed and productivity — no matter where founders and their teams are working.We offer a smart corporate card, business account, and mobile app that are easy to use from day one. No manuals needed here. Within minutes, you can deposit funds, send free wires and ACH worldwide, separate investor funds from operating expenses, earn great rewards, automate expenses, and more. Everything we do at Brex is to help founders spend less time managing expenses and reporting on your runway — and more time building your business.Get started at brex.com/ventureSydecar is on a mission to enable anyone to be a capital allocator by creating tools built specifically for today’s venture investor. Their powerful software removes the headache of organizing private investments — so that you can focus on making deals, not spreadsheets.Whether you’re syndicating your first or fiftieth deal, Sydecar acts as your silent operating partner, handling all back office functions in a single place. Sydecar always has your back, so that you never have to worry about chasing subscription docs, lost wires, or late K-1s.Visit our website to learn more and join the waitlist for Sydecar’s limited beta. In this episode we discuss:03:29 What Geoff and Eric wanted to build when they founded Bedrock06:51 How they decided on working together09:17 How Geoff defines a narrative violation when investing in early-stage startups13:53 How to find companies that are narrative violations?17:10 How investment decisions are made internally at Bedrock21:36 How Geoff views LPs (Clients) and why an interpersonal fit is more important to him than other funds. 25:32 The factors that go into consistently winning deals as a firm29:02 How large players entering the earlier investment stages is affecting Bedrock and the market in general31:52 How healthy is the market right now?34:18 Advice to anyone looking to invest in VC funds today37:13 How the Bedrock playbook has evolved over the years39:26 Can overthinking deals create issues for firms?42:22 What Geoff has learned about firm building45:53 The most impactful piece of career advice he’s received46:35 The most under-estimated quality of a good VC47:47 The people that have inspired him in his careerI’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Geoff. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on Twitter.Podcast Production support provided by Agent Bee Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com