The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
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20 VC 067: Scaling Startups Into Unicorns with Atomico's Mattias Ljungman and Carolina Brochado
31 augustus 2015 · 29 min
Mattias launched Atomico in 2006 alongside Niklas Zennström. In that time, Mattias has been involved with exits including Supercell (sold a majority stake to SoftBank), 6Wunderkinder (acquired by Microsoft in 2015), The Climate Corporation (acquired by Monsanto for $1.1B in 2013), Xobni (acquired by Yahoo! in 2013). Mattias works closely with a number of portfolio companies on their expansion, including Truecaller, Klarna, Hailo, and ChemistDirect. Lees meer
Carolina is Vice President @ Atomico, working on sourcing, evaluation and due diligence of investments. Carolina is based in London, however she travels frequently to Latin America to evaluate opportunities for Atomico to help companies in the region to scale. Prior to Atomico, Carolina started her career at Merrill Lynch's investment banking division before moving to private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners.
Did you like the double guest show today? If so click here!
If you prefer a single guest click here!
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Mattias and Carolina made their way into the VC industry with Atomico?
2.) How important is it for VCs to have entrepreneurial backgrounds?
3.) What advice would Mattias and Carolina give to anyone looking to enter the VC industry?
4.) What is Atomico's selection criteria? Average cheque size? Round preference? Sector preference?
5.) Why is now the best time to be a European entrepreneur? What has changed?
6.) What does it take for a tech ecosystem to thrive and grow?
7.) What is required for startups to scale from small markets to mass market adoption?
Items Mentioned In Today's Show:
Mattias' Fave Book: The Girl Who Saved The King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson
Carolina's Fave Book: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
Mattias' Fave Blog or Newsletter: Benedict Evans
Carolina's Fave Newsletter: The Skim, Dan Primack: TermSheet
Atomics's Most Used Productivity Tools: Wunderlist, Evernote, Pocket, SmartNews
Atomics's Most Recent Investm…
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FF 010: Becoming Europe's Hottest Startup with Carl Waldekranz, Co-Founder and CEO @ Tictail
28 augustus 2015 · 26 min
Carl Waldekranz is the CEO and co-founder of Tictail. With the vision of creating the worlds most used and loved e-commerce platform Tictail has been called the Tumblr of e-commerce and been celebrated as one of Europe's hottest startups. The vibrant community now hosts more than 85,000 stores on their service. Due to this phenomenal growth Tictail recently closed a $22m Series B from Balderton, Acton, Thrive and Creandum. Lees meer
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) What were Carl's entrepreneurial origins and how did Tictail get started?
2.) What does Carl's idea creation process look like? How does Carl brainstorm?
3.) Tictail now sells 2m products on their platform but how did they get their first customers?
4.) At what moment in the Tictail journey was Carl the most worried or frightened?
5.) What would Carl say are the essentials for funding? How did Carl meet his investors? What is the difference between the different funding rounds for startups?
6.) Why did Carl pitch other startups before pitching VCs?
7.) Question from Daniel Waterhouse @ Balderton: How has Tictail maintained the magic company culture in Sweden, whilst expanding to NY?
8.) If Carl could start his time with Tictail again, is there anything he would have done differently?
Items Mentioned In Today's Show:
Carl's Fave Book: The Score Takes Care of Itself, My Philosophy of Leadership by Bill Walsh
Carl's Fave Blog or Newsletter: First Round Capital Blog
As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC, Carl and Tictail on Twitter right here!
If you would like to see a more colourful side to Harry and a few mojito sessions, you can follow Harry on Instagram here!
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20 VC 066: FOUNDRY GROUP WEEK 1: Seth Levine: 'VC Is Not A Scalable Business'
26 augustus 2015 · 27 min
Seth Levine is one of the most successful VCs on the planet having Co-Founded Foundry Group, Seth has made investments in the likes of Fitbit (IPO), Admeld (acquired by Google), Zynga (IPO) and Gnip (acquired by Twitter). The Foundry Group now has 5 funds, 4 early stage and 1 growth fund, totalling over $1bn in assets. Prior to Foundry Group, Seth started his career in venture with Mobius Venture Capital and lead the IPO of FirstWorld in 2000. Seth writes an awesome blog on technology, venture capital and colorado at www.sethlevine.com. Lees meer
If you enjoyed today's show, share the love on Twitter by clicking here!
In Today's Show You Will Learn:
1.) Where it all started for Seth and how he made his move into the technology and venture industry?
2.) Question from James Altucher: Do you have to be in Silicon Valley to get the best access to deal flow?
3.) How has Foundry group developed since 2006 as VC firm?
4.) Why are all funds raised by Foundry the same, $225m? How is VC fundraising the same as startup fundraising?
5.) Question from Elizabeth Kraus: How does Seth stay motivated having enjoyed so much financial success with Foundry Group?
6.) What areas of tech is Seth most excited about?
Items Mentioned In Today's Show:
Most Used Apps: Slack, Voxer, DarkSky
Seth's Fave Book: The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Seth's Fave Blog or Newsletter: Hidden Brain
Seth Most Recent Investment: Sourcepoint
As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC, Seth and Foundry Group on Twitter here!
For a more colourful view of Harry's world and maybe a few mojito sessions, check out Harry's Instagram here!
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20 VC 065: FOUNDRY GROUP WEEK 1: Brad Feld: Founders Should Be Obsessed, Passion Belongs In The Bedroom
24 augustus 2015 · 31 min
Brad Feld is one of the world's leading VCs having Co-Founded Foundry Group, Brad has made investments in the likes of Zynga, Makerbot and Fitbit, just to name a few. Brad is also Co-Founder of Techstars, one of the world's most prominent startup accelerators, whose portfolio companies have raised over $1.3bn in funding. Lees meer
If that wasn't enough Brad is also a best selling author having co-athoured Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and VC, alongside Dick Costolo and Startup Communities: Building An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem In Your Community. In addition to his investing and writing, Brad has been active with several non-profit organizations and currently is chair of the National Center for Women & Information Technology and co-chair of Startup Colorado. Brad is a nationally recognized speaker on the topics of venture capital investing and entrepreneurship and writes the widely read blogs Feld Thoughts, Startup Revolution, and Ask the VC.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Brad made his move from entrepreneurship to VC and later co-founding, The Foundry Group.
2.) Does Brad agree with the view that it is important for entrepreneurs to fail?
3.) Why did Brad turn Fitbit down on 1st opportunity and what changed the 2nd time?
4.) What gets Brad excited in a startup? What areas are Brad most interested in?
5.) What is the main characteristic that makes the Foundry Group the huge success it is?
Items Mentioned In Today's Episode:
Brad's Fave Business Books:
1.) Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
2.) Hot Seat by Dan Shapiro
Brad's Fave Blog or Newsletter: Fred Wilson's Blog, Dan Primack: TermSheet, MatterMark Daily
Brad's Most Recent Investments: GlowForge: The 3D Laser Printer, Sphero
As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC, Brad and Foundry Group on Twitter here!
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FF 009: How To Leverage Your Connections To Grow Your Business with Sarah Schupp, Founder & CEO @ University Parent
21 augustus 2015 · 26 min
Sarah Schupp is the CEO and founder of UniversityParent. UniversityParent is the #1 site for college parents to find everything they need to help their children succeed. The company, which began with a single print guide for the University of Colorado Boulder, now prints parent guides for more than two hundred colleges, features information for 3,000 colleges and universities on its website, and distributes a weekly e-newsletter. In May 2014, UniversityParent celebrated its 10th anniversary and was named to the Mercury100, BizWest’s ranking of the 100 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in Boulder Valley. Lees meer
Sarah has been named one of Inc. Magazine's Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30, Businessweek's top 25 Entrepreneurs under 25, and one of the Denver Business Journal's Top Women Under 40. She’s been named a "Player to Watch" by the Gates Foundation, and was recognized by the White House and the United Nations as one of the country's top young entrepreneurs.
In Today's Show You Will Learn:
How the idea for UniversityParent came about?
How did Sarah manage to juggle a growing business with a University degree?
How individuals can leverage their university network to grow their business?
How important is it for entrepreneurs to be surrounded by like minded entrepreneurs?
In what circumstances should founders confide and not confide in their team?
How does Sarah as a leader show her support for her team?
How has Sarah found the fundraising process and what would Sarah change if she could start over?
Items Mentioned In Today's Show:
Harry's Fave Book: The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
Sarah's Fave Book: The Alchemist by Paolo Coehlo
Sarah's Fave Newsletter or Blog: Think With Google
As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Sarah on Twitter here!
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20 VC 064: Finding Exceptional People with Big Ideas with Nick Beim, Partner @ Venrock
19 augustus 2015 · 29 min
Nick Beim is a Partner @ Venrock where he focuses on internet, mobile, SaaS, big data and fintech investments. Nick blogs on the economics of innovation at www.nickbeim.com. Nick led the initial venture investments in a number of pioneering consumer internet companies including the Gilt Groupe, and Care.com (IPO). He also led the initial investments in a number of today’s leading big data innovators including Dataminr and Intent Media. Prior to joining Venrock, Nick was a General Partner at Matrix Partners and worked in the technology groups at McKinsey and Goldman Sachs. Nick’s primary passion outside of venture investing is international development, in particular accelerating international development through entrepreneurship. Nick serves on the board of Endeavor, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs in developing countries that Tom Friedman has called “the best anti-poverty program of all.” Lees meer
In 2011, Forbes named Nick one of the “Elite 8″ to watch in Venture Capital.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How Nick made his move into venture and started a bidding contest between two funds a bank for him!
How Nick got to be involved with DataMinr and how Nick believes society will use data in the future?
How does Nick standout in the super competitive rounds? What is Nick's value add?
Is it still harder for female founders to get VC funding? Why?
What can be done to improve this imbalance in the tech ecosystem?
What is impact investing? How do you balance LP returns with social impact improvements?
Our friend @ August Capital, David Hornik asks Nick, what is the difference between investing in NY compared to SF?
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Nick's Fave Book: Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Nick's Fave Newsletter or Blog: Reid Hoffman, Essays on Entrepreneurship
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20 VC 063: What It Takes To Standout In A Crowded Market with Ezra Galston @ Chicago Ventures
17 augustus 2015 · 28 min
Ezra Galston is a VC @ Chicago Ventures, where he focuses on consumer facing and marketing tech investments and is actively involved with Blitsy, BloomNation, Kapow Events, Luxury Garage Sale, Shiftgig, SpotHero, and Zipments. Ezra’s thoughts on startups, have been published in the Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, VentureBeat and Re/code.
Prior to Chicago Ventures, Ezra was a Young Entrepreneur at Foundation Capital. Before business school, Ezra served as the Director of Marketing for CardRunners Gaming – the parent company of CardRunners, Hold’em Manager and DraftDay – and before then earned a living as a professional poker player. If that wasn't enough he is also the author of one of our fave VC blogs www.breakingvc.com. Lees meerIn Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How Ezra became a Poker Player and then transitioned to the world of Venture Capital?
What is the mission with Chicago Ventures? Average ticket size? Preferred sector?
How important is it for startups to be close to their investors, geographically and relationship wise?
For marketplace startups, what metrics does Ezra really deep dive on?
With the likes of Instacart raising huge rounds, why are we seeing this huge increase in food tech?
In hugely crowded markets, how does Ezra sort the wood from the trees?
What advice would Ezra recommend to individuals looking to enter the VC industry?
Items Mentioned In Today's Episode:
Ezra's Fave Book: The Little Prince
Ezra's Fave Blog or Newsletter: Stratechery by Ben Thompson, Carpool.vc
Ezra's Fave Productivity Tools: Rapportive, Bitmoji
Ezra's Most Recent Investment: Luxury Garage Sale, Attendant
Bill Gurley: 10 Factors To Consider When Evaluating Digital Marketplaces
HungryRoot: Charlie O'Donnell, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures
As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Ezra on Twitter right here!
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FF 08: Pierre Valade, CEO @ Sunrise on Being Acquired By Microsoft for $100m and Building Beautiful Products
14 augustus 2015 · 24 min
Pierre Valade is Co-Founder and CEO @ Sunrise, the beautiful calendar app, acquired by Microsoft for $100m in February 2015, where he now works on Outlook Mobile for Microsoft. Prior to Sunrise, Pierre worked as a UX designer @ Foursquare following a successful hackathon in which he built an app in 6 hours, called Agora. Agora impressed Foursquare Founder, Dennis Crowley to the extent that Pierre was hired in the same month. As a result of Pierre's success he was named on the Innovators Under 35. Lees meer
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How Pierre came up with the idea for Sunrise?
What made Sunrise standout above all calendar apps as the best calendar?
What features are most requested by Sunrise users?
How was the design process in altering the design from a iPhone to a Apple Watch?
What was Pierre and Sunrise approach to testing and iterating products?
Having raised VC funding prior to acquisition, how did Pierre meet his initial investors, what was his fundraising experience like? Were there any surprises or challenges?
How did the Microsoft Acquisition come about? How has Pierre's role and Sunrise changed since the acquisition?
Items Mentioned In Today's Episode:
Pierre's Fave Book: Zero To One: Peter Thiel
Pierre Most Impactful Purchase: iPhone 6
Pierre's Fave Newsletter or Blog: Stratechery by Ben Thompson
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20 VC 062: Shaking Up London's VC Scene with Fede Pirzio-Biroli, Founder @ Playfair Capital
12 augustus 2015 · 27 min
Fede Pirzio-Biroli is Founder @ Playfair Capital, a leading investor in seed level, technology based startups. Fede founded Playfair Capital from his first investment in December of 2010 and the portfolio quickly grew to 20 investments by the end of 2012, including the likes of Duedil, AppearHere and On Device Research. During this period, Fede was an angel in residence at White Bear Yard. After working closely with Passion Capital, he built the Playfair Capital team and moved into Warner Yard, Playfair's current home. Prior to Playfair, he spent several years in Africa working for the UN, Oxfam and PharmaSecure, after which he lobbied government and large aid organisations to increase the transparency of aid flows. Lees meer
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Fede made his move into angel investing and then transitioned to form his own fund?
2.) What is the mission at Playfair? What is the average ticket size? Does Playfair have any preferred sectors?
3.) What do startups need to have to get the Playfair stamp of approval? What are Playfair looking for?
4.) How has Fede seen the seed funding environment change in London?
5.) How does Fede and Playfair stave off competition for the 'hot' startups looking to raise VC money?
6.) What benefits do founders get for working in a co-working space? How important is it for VCs to offer this service?
7.) How does Fede create a united company culture in a co-working space with so many different companies?
Items Mentioned In Today's Episode:
Fede's Fave Book: The Circle by David Eggers
Fede Fave Newsletter or Blog: Dojo, AngelList
Fede's Most Recent Investment: Knytton (Techstars London W14)
As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Fede on Twitter right here!
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20 VC 061: Roxanne Varza on Pitching A VC in 10 Minutes and Maximising Media Exposure For Your Startup
10 augustus 2015 · 31 min
Roxanne Varza is currently the startup lead for Microsoft in France, running both Microsoft Ventures Paris and Bizspark. Prior to Microsoft, Roxanne was Editor of TechCrunch France and has been a guest author for the likes of The Telegraph and Business Insider. Roxanne is also the Co-Founder of Tech.eu, one of the few publications to cover the European tech industry as a whole, with the brilliant Robin Wauters. If that wasn't enough Roxanne is also the Co-Founder of Girls In Tech both in Paris and London, which aims to raise the visibility of women in technology,entrepreneurship and innovation though monthly events, leadership programmes and much more. Roxanne has won a range of accolade including Top 30 Women Under 30 In Tech, Coolest 25 Women in Tech and 10 Women Shaking Up Tech In Their 30s. Lees meer
P.S. If you are looking for an amazing new podcast on the Tech Scene in Europe, check out Tech.eu's new show here: Tech.eu Podcast #4
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How Roxanne made her move into the tech industry and then made the move from TechCrunch to running Microsoft's Accelerator in Paris?
What would Roxanne recommend to people in tech contemplating moving countries?
What are the best and most effective ways to learn code from scratch?
What is the mission at Microsoft Ventures? What is the deal? What are the benefits?
In the 10 minute pitch to Roxanne, what does Microsoft want to hear?
How does Microsoft determine product-market fit?
What does the increase in US funds entering the European market suggest?
What are the benefits for startups of having global investors?
What can startups do to increase their media exposure in the sea of new startups?
What do journalists look for in emails from founders?
How can founders be successful through submitting guest posts?
What are the best and most effective ways to learn code from scratch?
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Roxanne's Fave Book: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Roxanne's Reading Mate…
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FF 007: Founding Europe's Largest Trading App with Nick Bortot, Founder @ Bux
7 augustus 2015 · 22 min
Nick Bortot is the Founder & CEO at Bux, Europe's largest mobile trading platform with an incredible 175,000 active users. In his former life he was one of the driving forces behind the Dutch market leader in online brokerage, BinckBank. There he held several commercial positions before he was elected member of the executive board. After having spent five years in the boardroom, Nick started dreaming about a new company that would make the financial markets both fun and exciting. This dream turned into BUX. Bud has attained many incredible mentions and awards including being named on the Fintech50 2015. You can also check out their first TV add right here! Lees meer
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How Nick made the move from broking to founding Bux?
What are the benefits of being a slightly older founder?
What Nick would recommend to anyone looking for a technical co-founder?
How to build a team of individuals with complimentary skills?
What are the drivers for the incredible growth to 175,000 users?
How is Nick planning to convert an audience of non trader to start trading?
What advice would Nick give founders entering into heavily regulated markets?
How Bux have built a great brand in a competitive market?
Having raised funds from Orange Growth Capital, what was surprising and challenging for Nick about raising angel and VC money?
What would Nick do differently if he was raising funds again?
Does Nick agree with the concept of building a 'war chest' of funds?
Items Mentioned in Today's Episode:
Nick's Fave Book: Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography
Nick's Fave Newsletter or Blog: VICE News
Nick's Fave App: BRAINTOSS: Toss your thoughts straight into your inbox
As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC, Nick and Bux on Twitter right here!
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20 VC 060: 12 Acquisitions, $1bn In Exits, Mike Jones, Former MySpace CEO on Life At Science Inc.
5 augustus 2015 · 21 min
Mike Jones is the Founder and CEO at Science Inc. a disruptive media, marketing and commerce company that creates, invests, acquires and scales successful digital businesses. Their incredible portfolio includes the likes of Medium, DollarShaveClub and DogVacay and their leadership is responsible for an astonishing 12 acquisitions and over $1bn in exits. Prior to Science Inc, Mike was the CEO at Myspace, where he was responsible for the relaunch, one of the most high-profile turn-around challenges in the industry, before selling MySpace to SpecificMedia on behalf of NewsCorp. Mike is also an active early stage investor having personally invested in over 30 startup businesses including Klout, Betterworks, Formspring, ShoeDazzle to name a few. Lees meer
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Mike began his entrepreneurial career, how MySpace came about then how Mike made the move to Science Inc?
2.) What is the mission at Science, what does Science provide and how do they differ from the likes of YC and Techstars?
3.) Science have a specific methodology to identify the best startups and the best sectors. What is involved in this methodology? Has it changed since the start of Science?
4.) What can a startup founder do or show you to impress you? Are there any real red flags for you when meeting startup founders? What are the commonalities of the great founders?
5.) What is Science's involvement with the companies, what are their key value adds at Science?
6.) On Twist Mike said ‘growth is the most important thing, without growth there is no money’? So what at Science how do they approach growth and what are the challenges posed by this need for growth?
Items Mentioned in Todays Episode:
Mike's Fave Book: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do by Chris Duhigg
Mike's Fave News Source: FlipBoard
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20 VC 059: How To Approach VCs with Arteen Arabshahi, VC @ Karlin Ventures
3 augustus 2015 · 30 min
Arteen Arabshahi is a VC at Karlin Ventures, where he specialises in enterprise software, commerce platforms, and marketplaces. Prior to Karlin Ventures, Arteen spearheaded the launch of Built In LA, an online community for digital entrepreneurs and innovators. However, his passion for startups flourished while helping run operations at Excelerate Labs, now Techstars Chicago. In today's incredible interview we delve into the best strategies for contacting any VC you want, how to make the approach, how to deal with the emotional and psychological pressure of starting a company and the rise of marketplaces. When not with startups, Arteen sits on the board of TEDxVenice Beach and is a supporter of TWLOHA, a non-profit raising awareness and support for those struggling with mental health. Lees meer
As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC, Arteen and Karlin Ventures on Twitter right here!
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How Arteen made the jump into the world of Venture Capital, from originally wanting to be a plastic surgeon!!
How did Arteen approach VCs when applying for positions?
What did Arteen say in those emails to achieve such a high response rate?
What tools did Arteen use to ensure he got the VCs real email address?
Does Arteen agree with the traditional routes into Venture: Startup Founder, Consultant, Investment Banking?
Why is Arteen so excited about marketplaces? Are there any in particular that Arteen is doubling down on?
How big a market does a market have to be to get Arteen excited?
What would Arteen advise founders potentially struggling from self doubt or lacking in confidence?
What mental health tools would Arteen recommend to help with this?
The biggest red flags for Arteen when being pitched to?
Items Mentioned in Today's Episode:
Email Address Tools: Rapportive
Arteen's ProductHunt Collection
Arteen's Fave Book: Fightclub
Arteen's Marketplace Investments: Laurel & Wolf, ShipHawk
Arteen's Fave Newsletter: Ben Evans Blog, St…
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FF 006: Acquired by Amazon, CEO @ Digg, EIR @ a16z and now Founder @ Pro.com with Matt Williams
31 juli 2015 · 23 min
Matt Williams is Founder and CEO of Pro.com. Prior to Pro.com, Matt served as entrepreneur-in-residence at Andreessen Horowitz, following his time at Digg where he led the complete overhaul of Digg which he joined as CEO in 2010 to rebuild the site from the ground up and contributed to its successful acquisition by Betaworks in 2012. Before Digg, Matt spent 12 years at Amazon where he managed Amazon’s Auctions and Marketplace, Community and Cross Merchandising, Tech Alliances, Web Store, and Consumer Payments divisions. Prior to Amazon, Matt founded and was the CEO of Livebid, which was acquired by Amazon in 1999. Lees meer
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Matt made his way into entrepreneurship and then later the VC world?
2.) How did LiveBid come about when Matt was only 23 and how did he build the product and the initial user base?
3.) What was the hardest aspect of the entire LiveBid journey and how did Matt overcome it?
4.) How did Matt's life and work change moving from your own startup to working in a massive organization like amazon? What would Matt advise founders who have sold or are thinking of selling their companies to large corporations?
5.) Following a number of years at Amazon. How did you attempt to turn Digg around as CEO and was their anything you would have done differently?
6.) As EIR at Andreessen Horowitz what was it like, for Matt, working at a16z? Was there anything that surprised Matt about the move to venture?
7.) What would Matt say was the biggest lesson from working at these tech titans was? How has that affected how Matt runs Pro.com today?
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20 VC 058: 10 Key Traits To Be A Successful Founder with David Wu, General Partner @ Maveron
29 juli 2015 · 24 min
David Wu is a General Partner at Maveron, which he joined in 2012 to help identify new investments in Web companies that have the potential to become leading consumer brands. He sourced and led Maveron's investment, Eargo and Darby Smart, also serving on their board. David is very much founder focussed and you’ll often find him coaching entrepreneurs at top Bay Area incubators such as Y Combinator, AngelPad, 500 Startups, and Stanford’s StartX and was previously EIR at Redpoint Ventures. His close ties to the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial community have led him to invest personally in over 30 start-ups, including Practice Fusion, Postmates, Tile, Jaunt VR, and SeatMe. Lees meer
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How David made his move into the world of venture capital?
How David perceives the current seed funding environment?
What makes Stanford the breeding ground of tech unicorns that it is?
How to create a bay area style culture?
What is the most frequent problem David sees startups encounter and how do they overcome it?
How can entrepreneurs know which funding source to go for? Crowdfunding, VC, Angel?
Why should startups take seed VC money over angel money? What is the difference?
What are the key traits required to be a great founder?
How can products with early adopter usage transition to a mass market product?
Items Mentioned In Today's Show:
David's Fave Books: Game Of Thrones
David's Most Recent Investment: Jott
As always you can follow Harry, David, The Twenty Minute VC and Maveron on Twitter right here!
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20 VC 057: The Investor Checklist with Nicolas Wittenborn, VC @ Point Nine Capital
27 juli 2015 · 25 min
Did you know: The name Point Nine Capital originates from the 0.9 version of a product that is early but has great potential. Lees meer
Nicolas Wittenborn is a VC at Point Nine Capital, one of the leading seed funds in Europe. Prior to Point Nine, Nicolas worked for the Team Europe Seed Fund. You can follow Nicolas' incredible blog here, which include my favourite ever blog post, outlining the exemplar pitch deck that startups should follow!
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How Nicolas made the move from iPhone sales arbitrage to VC analyst!!
How big does a market have to be to get VCs excited?
Do VCs have preferences with regards to teams? Technical or not? Multiple founders or not?
At the Seed stage what do VCs expect in the product itself?
What are the key metrics investors look for when viewing startups for the 1st time?
What are the different types of competition and how can founders determine whether they are a real threat?
How can startups and mobile apps in particular, grow organically in the early stages?
Items Mentioned in Today's Episode:
Nicolas' Fave Book: What Makes Sami Run?: Budd Schulberg
Nicolas Fave Newsletters: Benedict Evans Newsletter, Point Nine Newsletter
Nicolas' Most Recent Investment: Green Blender: Superfood Smoothie Ingredients Delivered To Your Door
As always you can follow Harry, Nicolas, The Twenty Minute VC and Point Nine Capital right here!
Similarly if you want to see Harry in a more colourful light, head over to Instagram for copious amount of mojitos!
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Founding WIRED 2014's Winner, with Mutaz Qubbaj, Founder @ Squirrel
24 juli 2015 · 22 min
Mutaz Qubbaj is Founder @ Squirrel, a financial wellbeing platform that allows employees to regain control of their financial lives. Mutual has celebrated much recent success with Squirrel having been named winner of WIRED 2014 and Pitch @ The Palace. Mutaz is also an expert on all things accelerator having been an alum at Barclays Techstars London with Squirrel, which you may remember from our interview with Greg Rogers, where Greg named Squirrel the next company to disrupt an industry. Prior to Squirrel, Mutaz has had a financial career that includes an LBS Masters in Finance and more than a decade at Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and PIMCO as a trader, strategist and marketer. Lees meer
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How Mutaz made his movement from banking to being a startup founder?
Was it difficult for Mutaz to leave the security of banking for the risky journey of entrepreneurship?
What would Mutaz advise anyone looking to make the jump into the world of entrepreneurship?
How did joining Techstars, help Squirrel as a company and Mutaz as a Founder?
What is the Barclays Techstars process like?
How can Founders decide which accelerator is right for them?
What red flags should founders look for when investigating accelerators?
How much equity do traditional accelerators take?
What tips does Mutaz have to get the most out of the accelerator experience?
How do individuals know when to give up the day job and become an entrepreneur?
Items Mentioned in Todays Show:
Mutaz's Fave Book: Exponential Organisations: Why New Organisations Are 10 Times Cheaper, Faster and Better Than Yours by Salim Ismail and Michael Malone
Mutaz's Fave Reading Material: TechCrunch
As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Squirrel on Twitter here!
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20 VC 056: The Life Cycle of Startups with Guy Turner, Partner @ Hyde Park Venture Partners
22 juli 2015 · 23 min
Quote of the Day: 'Invest in people who do what they say they are going to do and have done what they said they would do'. Guy Turner, 20VC Lees meer
Guy Turner is a Partner at Hyde Park Venture Partners where he focuses on fast growing companies run by ambitious entrepreneurs with disruptive ideas. All of his incredible findings can be found through his blog at vcwithme.co. Guy joined Hyde Park Venture Partners in 2011 from Boston Consulting Group where he focused on corporate strategy across a variety of industries; he started his investing career as an Associate and then actively investing Member of Hyde Park Angels in 2009. Guy has led investments in numerous B2B software companies and is a Director at Geofeedia, InContext Solutions and Iris Mobile. Guy is also a Siebel Scholar, Kauffman Fellow and a co-inventor on two US Patents.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How Guy made his move into the investing industry?
How did Guy find the transition from academia to venture?
Why is it crucial for startups to innovate, test and sell quickly?
How can a startup determine whether their project is successful or if they should pivot?
What are the three steps to the 18 month runway, all startups need?
Do investors mind providing more financially to increase the runway?
What can startups do to maximise the hype surrounding their business?
Can hype ever be detrimental to a startup?
What are Guy's preferences in terms of founders?
How can a startup know when VCs are subtly rejecting them?
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Guy's Fave Book: Thinking in Time
Guys Most Recent Investment: 250ok
FarmLogs
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20 VC 055: VC Done Right with Jonathon Triest @ Ludlow Ventures
20 juli 2015 · 25 min
Quote of the Day: 'Advisors are the most crucial element to success for the young generation'. Jonathon Triest, 20 Min VC Lees meer
Jonathon Triest is the Founder and Managing Partner of Ludlow Ventures and Sandwich Fund. Prior to launching Ludlow, Jonathon worked as creative director for New York’s Discovery Productions. He founded and operated Triest Group, a design firm with a deep UI/UX focus. In addition to his role at Ludlow, Jonathon is a Kauffman Fellow and a mentor at numerous technology accelerators including Silicon Valley’s Up West Labs, Cincinnati’s The Brandery, and San Francisco’s Highway 1. He is board member of The Trico Foundation and Venture for America.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How Jonathon made his unorthodox way into starting his own fund at the age of 27?
What was Jonathon's first investing strategy and how has it developed?
What Jonathon believes is wrong with the typical VC? How are Ludlow different?
How does Jonathan find the fundraising process as a VC?
Other than capital what are the benefits of fundraising?
How does Jonathon differentiate Ludlow from the huge amount of seed funds?
What are the benefits of accelerators for Jonathon and Ludlow?
How does Jonathon approach deal flow?
What does Jonathon look for in founders?
Does Jonathon have design input in his investments?
How important are advisors for the young generation coming into this community?
How Jonathon managed to convince the likes of Brad Feld and Eric Ries to mentor him?
Items Mentioned In Todays Show
Jonathon's Fave Book: The Thief of Always by Clive Barker
Jonathon's Most Recent Investment: Rapify
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Founders Friday 004: Life As A Non-Technical Co-Founder with Will Sacks, The Fertility King @ Kindara
17 juli 2015 · 21 min
Will Sacks is Co-Founder and CEO at Kindara, the fertility awareness app that provides tools to understand fertility and be in control of their own body. Kindara has achieved phenomenal success having significant press in the likes of Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, New York Times and Forbes. Their first product Kindara Fertility for iPhone has been ranked #1 on the App Store Medical Charts. In this incredibly diverse conversation our talk ranges from wire framing and programming to vasectomies and uterus', it's a must listen! Lees meer
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
Why Will started Kindara and how he got the initial product off the ground, without being able to code?
Should Founders learn to code or learn how to be the best CEO they can be?
How and what was the wire framing process like? What advice does Will have for other non-technical co-founders?
How does Will feel being a male CEO for a female product?
How has Will created this community of incredibly engaged users?
How has Will managed to grow his audience so effectively?
What has Will learnt from raising $1.7m in angel and VC funding?
What is the hardest aspect of fundraising?
What advice would will give to a startup thinking of raising funds?
How is Will planning to transition into the world of hardware?
What theories of The Lean Startup did not work for Will?
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Will's Favourite Books:
Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers by Gabriel Weinberg
4 Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products That Win by Steve Blank
Eric Ries: The Lean Startup
Will's Fave Blogs
Seth Godin: Circles of Marketing
Brad Feld: Blog
Paul Graham: How to raise money
Marc Andreesen: Reasons You Won't Get Funded
Will's Must Have WireFraming Tool
Balsamiq
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20 VC 055: David Pakman @ Venrock on The Future Of The Music Industry
15 juli 2015 · 20 min
Quote of the Day: 'A great entrepreneur has the ability to bend the world to their will'. David Pakman, 20VC Lees meer
David Pakman is a Partner at Venrock, having spent the past 12 years as an internet entrepreneur. This includes David's appointment as CEO of eMusic, the world’s leading digital retailer of independent music, second only to iTunes. Prior to joining eMusic, David co-founded Myplay in 1999, which he later sold, in 2001, to Bertelsmann’s ecommerce Group. Before Myplay, he was Vice President at N2K Entertainment, which created the first digital music download service. If that wasn't enough David is also the co-creator of Apple Computer’s Music Group.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How David started his career as an entrepreneur and later made the move to VC?
How David found the transition from entrepreneur and CEO to being a VC?
What is the main value add that both Venrock and David provides to their investments?
What makes a great entrepreneur for David?
How long do VCs need to know entrepreneurs before making investments?
What 3 tips would David give for best sourcing deals as a VC?
What areas does David believe are soon to be disrupted? How does David predict the next big industries to be disrupted?
What did David think of Jay Z's launch of Tidal?
Who will dominate in the music streaming sector in the coming years?
Items Mentioned in Today's Episode:
David's Fave Book: Mindset by Carole Dweck
David's Favourite Blog: Ben Thompson's: Stratechery
Dollar Shave Club: Shave Time, Shave Money
YouNow
Tidal: High Fidelity Music Streaming
As always you can follow Harry, David, The Twenty Minute VC and Venrock on Twitter here!
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20 VC 053: Inside Union Square Ventures with Jonathan Libov @ Union Square Ventures
13 juli 2015 · 29 min
Quote of the Day: 'Keep an open mind from an early age'. Jonathan Libov, 20VC Lees meer
Jonathan Libov joined the investment team at Union Square Ventures in September of 2014. Jonathan hails from New York but has lived for the last few years in Tel Aviv, where he most recently worked as a Product Manager at Appsfire. He's a graduate of Vassar College with a degree in Cognitive Science and began his career in neuroscience research. He designs and codes, with Fifty among his side projects.
In Today's Show You Will Learn:
How Jonathan made his move from product guy to VC at USV?
What is the key determinant for USV's success?
How Fred Wilson and USV use blogging to market USV as 'smart money'?
Is SMS dead? What is and will it be used for in the future?
What sectors are ripe for disruption?
How can technology and sport be integrated?
Apple Music: Success or failure?
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Favourite Book: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
OB1: Making Trade free for everyone, everywhere
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Founders Friday 003: 2m users, $2m Seed Round, 220,000 Instagram Followers with Phil Jacobson, Founder @ PumpUp
10 juli 2015 · 21 min
Phil Jacobson is Co-Founder At PumpUp, a community for healthy and active living, with over 2m users. Phil leads the operations, finance, marketing, business development and external relations for PumpUp, with great success having accumulated over 220,000 Instagram followers! Prior to PumpUp, Phil held brand management positions at Unilever and PepsiCo. Lees meer
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How Phil started PumpUp?
How Phil got 1,500 downloads in day one?
What marketing strategies are PumpUp working on to continue growing?
What social media strategies Phil recommends founders attempting to build an online presence?
How did Phil accumulate the 220,000 instagram followers organically?
What has Phil done to create such a heavily engaged user base?
Who are Phil's biggest competitors and how does PumpUp aim to stay ahead of them?
Where are PumpUp in the fundraising process, what has Phil learnt from the $2m seed round?
How can startups determine how much they need to raise?
What are PumpUp doing to ensure customer retention rates remain high?
Items Mentioned In Today's Show:
PumpUP App
General Catalyst Partners
Favourite Book: The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
Favourite Blog: MatterMark Daily
As always you can follow Harry, Phil, The Twenty Minute VC and PumpUp on Twitter here!
A new one recommended by Phil, click here to follow the awesome Instagram pages of Harry and PumpUp!
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20 VC 052: How To Make The Leap From Seed To Series A with Ari Helgason @ Dawn Capital
8 juli 2015 · 21 min
Ari Helgason is a VC at Dawn Capital in London and a former entrepreneur with operational experience in both London and New York. Prior to Dawn, Ari founded SaaS sales and workflow management system World on a Hanger and ecommerce clothing marketplace Fabricly.com. More recently, he launched ecommerce sites for fashion and luxury brands in London and New York. Ari is an alumnus of the Y Combinator startup accelerator and he regularly visits Silicon Valley where he has extensive relationships. Lees meer
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How Ari made his move into the VC scene?
Why Ari decided to bootstrap his first business?
Does Ari believe that Founders should always be fundraising?
Should Founders take more money than they need, 'a war chest'?
What type of goals do VCs want to see from founders?
What do investors expect from startups at Series A?
How can founders learn what KPI's make sense for their business?
How can founders know when is the right time to fundraise?
How can startup founders get their foot in the VC door?
Items Mentioned in Today's Episode:
Predictable Revenue: Aaron Ross (Mandatory Reading for All SaaS CEO's)
Elon Musk: How The Billionaire of SpaceX and Tesla is Shaping Our Future
Saastr by Jason Lemkin
AVC.com
As always you can follow Harry, Ari and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter here!
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20 VC 051: The New Silicon Valley Style VC in London with Alessandra Sollberger @ Mosaic Ventures
6 juli 2015 · 18 min
Alessandra Sollberger is a VC at Mosaic Ventures, a new Silicon Valley style venture firm based in London, focussing on Series A rounds. Alessandra previously worked in private equity at Blackstone, covering sectors ranging from consumer brands to software. Prior to that, she worked in startups in the US and Europe and in M&A at Goldman Sachs. She is also the founder of Bright Mentors, an edtech non-profit teaching coding and science in secondary schools through a network of technology professionals. Lees meer
In todays episode you will learn:
How Alessandra made her move into the VC world?
What are you Mosaic looking for? What is their typical investment size?
What Alessandra thinks of the different paths into venture?
What advice would you give someone looking to enter venture?
Why Alessandra believes there has been a resurgence in marketplaces? What is driving this growth?
What startup marketplaces is Alessandra most excited about?
Alessandra's thoughts on the next big sector to be disrupted and why?
As always you can follow Harry, Alessandra, The Twenty Minute VC and Mosaic Ventures on Twitter here!
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Founders Friday 002: Balderton's James Wise interviews 20VC Founder, Harry Stebbings
3 juli 2015 · 22 min
Today is a very special show as James Wise, Principal at Balderton Capital turns the tables on Host of The Twenty Minute VC, Harry Stebbings. In today's brilliant interview by James we delve into what has led to Harry's interest in the VC industry, why did Harry start The 20 Minute VC, how does Harry identify guests to interview, how does he approach those guests, how has Harry found his first experience in the venture industry, what has surpassed Harry about the VC industry, what traits has Harry spotted that are common among the great VCs interviewed, is Harry optimistic or not about the venture industry, what would Harry recommend for other people looking to go into venture. Lees meer
Items Mentioned in Todays Show:
Harry's Favourite Books: Tim Ferris: 4 Hour Work Week, 4 Hour Body
Shyp
Crowdcube, 3DHubs, Tictail
MMC Ventures, Founders Forum
As always you can follow Harry, James and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter here!
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20 VC 050: Starting, Building and Selling in SaaS with the King of SaaS, Jason Lemkin, Managing Director @ Storm Ventures
1 juli 2015 · 23 min
Jason Lemkin is Managing Director at Storm Ventures focussing on early stage SaaS and enterprise startups. Jason is an acknowledged thought leader in SaaS through his creation of the SaaStr community, connecting thousands of SaaS entrepreneurs and generating upwards of 1,000,000 views a month around core SaaS topics, with a particular focus on accelerating revenue and early-stage SaaS sales and marketing. Prior to Storm, Jason served as CEO and co-founder of Storm Ventures-backed EchoSign, the web’s most popular electronic signature service. Jason led EchoSign from inception through its acquisition by Adobe Systems Inc. in 2011. He then served as Vice President, Web Services at Adobe, where he oversaw the growth of EchoSign and Adobe Document Services to $100,000,000+ ARR in 2013. Lees meer
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How Jason made his way into the SaaS and VC industry?
What actions did Jason do to get his blog to 1m+ page views per month?
What advice would Jason give to founders thinking of selling to large companies?
What type of entrepreneur does Jason like to invest in?
How does Jason see SaaS valuations, with recent enormous rounds from Zenefits?
What areas of the SaaS industries are neglected or undervalued?
Is the 40% growth rule broadly correct and can this be applied to early stage tech companies?
What is Jason's pre-investment meeting approach like?
What makes a founder insane in a good way, rather than a bad way?
How are SaaS companies innovating to acquire new customers?
Quick Fire Round:
Apple: Hit or Miss
Most exciting SaaS companies and sectors
Jason's favourite book and why?
Items Mentioned in Today's Episode:
SaaStr: Jason's Blog
Jason's Favourite Book: The Lion Who Shot Back
Mark Suster: Both Sides
Follow: @saleshacker (amazing content from VPs of Sales @ Top Tech Startups)
Emergence Capital: Joe Floyd
David Saks: Yammer
Slack: Stewart Butterfield, Zenefits: Parker Conrad
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20 VC 049: VC is Getting Younger with Spencer Lazar @ General Catalyst Partners
29 juni 2015 · 27 min
Spencer Lazar is a Principal at General Catalyst Partners, based in New York City. He focuses on early stage software & internet investments, with a particular interest in online marketplaces, mobile applications, web services, and enterprise IT. Spencer was previously the cofounder of Spontaneously, Inc - an iOS development studio. Prior to that he was an early stage software & internet investor at Accel in London, where he sourced and worked with companies including Hailo, Birchbox, Bonobos, ForgeRock, and Qriously. Lees meer
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How is the roads into the venture industry changing?
What young people can do to make themselves more attractive to VCs?
What would make Spencer's perfect founder?
How important is geography when investing in startups?
How does Spencer feel the education technology space is developing?
What metrics Spencer examines when investing in a startup?
What sectors is Spencer most interested in?
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Spencer's Favourite Book: The Everything Store on Jeff Bezos
Spencer's Latest Investment: CampusJob
Insight Venture Partners
How Lightspeed's Jeremy Liew invested in Snapchat?
Hot EdTech Startups: Lynda.com, PluralSight, General Assembly, Grovo, ClimbCredit
Oscar, Sensio
As always you can follow Harry, Spencer and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter here!
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Founder's Friday 001: How to Create Great Company Culture with Anand Sanwal, Founder @ CB Insights
26 juni 2015 · 24 min
Anand Sanwal is the CEO and Co-Founder of CB Insights. Specifically, CB Insights tracks financing trends and private companies in the healthcare, industrial, technology, software, energy & utilities, renewable, internet and mobile industries. CB Insights works primarily with venture capital, private equity, angel investors, corporate development, corporate strategy and family offices. Formerly, Sanwal was the Vice President at American Express. Sanwal was responsible for managing three primary functions which included the (1) Chairman’s $50 Million Innovation Fund, (2) CFO’s strategic planning function and (3) Enterprise Investment Optimization group. He is the author of “Optimizing Corporate Portfolio Management” which features a forward by former American Express and Citigroup CFO, Gary Crittenden. Lees meer
In Todays Episode You Will Learn:
Why Anand chose not to take VC funding for CB Insights?
Should all subscription based companies be revenue funded?
What one key determinant has contributed to the success of CB Insights?
How has Anand's hiring strategy changed over time?
How strategies does Anand use to create this company culture?
What is the biggest challenge facing Anand today?
What tactics have not worked when trying to create a good working environment?
Is CB Insights replacing VCs, potentially losing their core customers?
What metrics Anand would most look for in a startup?
We then delve into a quick fire round and discover what is Anand's favourite business book, what gets Anand excited, what advice Anand would give to himself 10 years ago starting out in the industry and finally the next 5 years for Anand and CB Insights.
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20 VC 048: What Do VC's Really Add To Startups with Christian Claussen, Managing Partner @ Ventech
24 juni 2015 · 22 min
Quote of the Day: "Capital is a crappy differentiator". Dustin Dolginow Lees meer
Christian Claussen is a Managing Partner with Ventech, a VC firm with offices in Munich and Paris. He has 16 years of experience investing in innovation and he leads Ventech investment activities in the German-speaking regions of Europe. He serves as a board member for Picanova and TV Smiles.
In today's amazing episode with Christian we learn:
Which value adds are most important for founders to look for?
How can Founders determine whether VCs will carry out on their 'Value Add'?
What are the signs of VC bulls***?
Will we see all VCs transition to Andreesen Horowitz service based VC model?
How have VCs offerings to startups changed over time?
What advice would Christian provide to founders entering a round of funding?
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Christian's Favourite Book: Phillip Roth: Everyman
Christian's Article on VC Value Add
Speex: Online Language Training That Really Works
Andreesen Horowitz
As always you can follow Harry and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter here!
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20 VC 047: 4 Ways Investors Find Great Startups with Rob Moffat, Principal @ Balderton Capital
22 juni 2015 · 24 min
Rob Moffat is Principal at Balderton Capital, one of London's leading VC firms. At Balderton Rob specialises in Fintech, Martech, Gaming and Marketplaces. Rob is currently a board director or observer with six portfolio companies: Qubit, Wooga, Housetrip, Carwow, Rentify and Nutmeg. Other investments Rob has been involved with at Balderton include Citymapper, Top10, Scoot and Archify. Prior to joining Balderton Rob worked for Google in London, as a Manager in the European Strategy and Operations team. He started his career with five years in strategy consulting with Bain, working mostly with financial services clients. Lees meer
In today's amazing discussion with Rob we discover:
What characteristics make a great VC?
How VCs assess incoming business plans and investment opportunities?
The biggest problem facing Rob today, as Principal at Balderton?
How the structure of VC firms is changing to a service based environment?
Does Crowdfunding pose a threat to VC as a alternative method of finance?
For individuals wanting to move into Venture, what can they do to optimise their employability in the VC world?
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Rob Moffat: Medium
Rob's Favourite Book: The Circle: Dave Eggers
Crowdcube
Just Park
Nutmeg: Online Investment Management
As always you can follow Harry, Rob and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter here!
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20 VC 046: How VCs Evaluate Investment Opportunities with Alan Chiu, Partner @ XSeed Capital
18 juni 2015 · 21 min
Alan Chiu is a Partner at XSeed Capital, with a strong background in enterprise software and data storage. Alan is currently Vice President for Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs, an alumni association that seeks to strengthen Stanford’s startup community by fostering relationships among entrepreneurs and alumni investors. Prior to XSeed, Alan was previously Director of Product Management at Bycast (acquired by NetApp), and was engineering manager at Creo, which was acquired by Kodak for $1B in cash. Lees meer
In todays amazing discussion with Alan we discover:
What the checklist is for Alan when investing in startups?
Why Stanford is the amazing place it is for startups?
What is the most important value add that VCs can bring to a startup?
When is the right time to pivot and how important is a product roadmap?
As always you can follow Harry, Alan and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter here!
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20 VC 045: From Idea to Pitch with Alan Jones, Founding Investor @ Startmate
15 juni 2015 · 25 min
Alan Jones is Chief Growth Hacker at Bluechilli, who have set the incredible goal of building 100 startups by 2016! Alan is also Founding Investor and Mentor at Startmate, an Australian Y Combinator style accelerator. If that wasn't enough Alan also invests and advises through Blackbird Ventures, Pollenizer and Startmate. Lees meer
In Today's Amazing Discussion with Alan We Discover:
What you should do when you have a great idea?
How to validate a market?
How to figure out if it is a viable business?
What can non technical co-founders do to get their idea of the ground?
What individuals can do to meet technical co-founders?
What are the biggest tips for entrepreneurs when facing a pitch?
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Dan Ariely: Predictably Irrational
Tzukuri: Bluetooth Wearable Technology
TreeHouse
Quora
OtherLevels: Mobile Marketing Automation Platform
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20 VC 044: Dominating AngelList Syndicates with Doug Scott
11 juni 2015 · 27 min
Doug Scott has one of the largest AngelList syndicates, now with an incredible £396,000 in his. Doug is one of first investors in Techstars, Ignite.io and Entrepreneurs First in Europe ( still an investor in all 3 ). Prior to angel investing Doug founded several internet companies based in the UK, carrentals.co.uk - over 1 million rentals, discountvouchers.co.uk - 6 million subscribers, timetobreak.com - over 5 milion page views per day. Lees meer
In today's discussion Harry and delves into what Doug really expects from founders, how Doug would like to be pitched by prospective startups, is AngelList challenging the VC model, what investors and startups can expect from Doug's syndicate, his biggest tip to an aspiring entrepreneur and much more...
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Doug's AngelList Syndicate, Gil Dibner's AngelList Syndicate, Tim Jackson AngelList Syndicate
Oxygen Accelerator, Jon Bradford, Springboard
Cashkaro, Meals, Lifebox, Chew
You can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Doug on Twitter here!
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20 VC 043: How To Be A VC Analyst and Lessons From Union Square and First Round with Charlie O'Donnell, Founder @ Brooklyn Bridge Venture
8 juni 2015 · 28 min
Charlie O'Donnell is the Founder and Sole Partner @ Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, the first venture capital fund based in Brooklyn. Prior to founding Brooklyn Bridge, Charlie worked at the prestigious First Round Capital, with the likes of Josh Koppelman and Union Square Ventures with Fred Wilson. If that wasn't enough Charlie is one of only a dozen to be named to Business Insider's 100 Most Influential People in NY Tech five or more times and has served on the founding board of the New York Tech Meetup and is one of the group's first 100 members. His blog, This is Going to Be BIG!, is one of the ten most widely read VC blogs in the country with over 8,000 readers. Lees meer
Among the many discussions Harry and Charlie delve into how to enter the VC job industry, how the seed stage fund raising environment is behaving, what Charlie learnt from Union Square and First Round, tactics that individuals can do to increase their own branding, Charlie's views on investing in hardware, investing in Kickstarter backed companies, the next five years for Charlie, what has blown Charlie's mind in the last four weeks, the marketing possibilities of Instagram for startups and much more...
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
How To Be A VC Analyst: Charlie's Post
Charlie's Hardware Portfolio Companies: Ringly, GoTenna, Canary Home Security
Hungryroot: Farm Fresh 7 Minute Meals
Tinkergarten
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James Altucher: Ideas, Investing and Entrepreneurs
4 juni 2015 · 28 min
James Altucher is a successful entrepreneur, investor, board member, and the writer of 11 books including the recent WSJ Bestseller, "Choose Yourself!" (foreword by Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter). He has started and sold several companies for eight figure exits. He's on the board of a billion $ revenue company, has written for The Financial Times, The New York Observer, he's run several hedge funds, venture capital funds, and is a successful angel investor, having invested in over 30 startups alongside Silicon Valley's Top VC's. Lees meer
In today's conversation Harry and James discuss how to continuously come up with great ideas, what tasks activate the 'idea muscle', what tactics have produced the greatest investing returns for James, what traits do great founders have, how has James' investing strategy developed, what is the future for Uber, the scam that is University and much more...
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Alternatives to College and Careers: Learn to Become an iOS Developer, Learn to Become a Web Developer
James Altucher: Choose Yourself!
Tim Ferriss: AngelList Syndicate
Shyp: The Easiest Way To Ship Your Stuff
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Jason Calacanis: The World's Greatest Angel Investor
1 juni 2015 · 55 min
Jason Calacanis is arguably the world's greatest angel investor with over 60 investments including the likes of Uber (1st round), ThumbTack and Calm, just to name a few. Jason is also the Host of This Week In Startups, the world's biggest startup podcast and Founder of Launch and Launch Festival, the world's biggest startup festival. Lees meer
In this interview we discuss, how Jason invested in Uber's 1st round, what Jason looks for in startups, how Jason can tell whether a founder has got what it takes, which VC's Jason most likes to work with, which entrepreneurs Jason most likes to invest in, what pisses Jason off more than anything, what inspires him more than anything, what industries will see the most disruption in the coming years, what makes a great entrepreneur and how startups can position themselves best for entering a round of funding.
Enjoy! All show notes, links and resources from this episode can be found at http://www.thetwentyminutevc.com and you can follow Harry, Jason and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter.
Mentioned in Today's Show:
Bill Gurley, Jonathan Triest, Chamath Palihapitiya
Bento: Delicious Asian Food Delivered in Minutes
Butterfleye: Google's Nest Meets Dropcam
Birdi: Better Than A Smoke Detector
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20 VC 040: The Required Qualities To Be A Great Founder, with Scott Taylor, CEO @ miDrive
28 mei 2015 · 18 min
Scott Taylor is the CEO @ miDrive, a startup focussed on reinventing the learner driving experience. Scott is also an advisor to leading London based VC firm EC1 Capital. If that wasn't enough he is a mentor at Richard Branson's Virgin Startup Program and an investor in Coupang and Mavrx. Prior to miDrive, he was Chief Product Officer at Livedrive, one of Europe's leading cloud storage providers, assisting with its sale to j2 Global. Lees meer
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
TreeHouse: Learn Web Design, Web Development
LifeCake Acquisition
FestivalFriends App
Crowdcube: Online Investing, Equity Crowdfunding
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Ben Horowitz
Into The Woods: John Yorke
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) Where it all began for Scott and how he made his move into technology and venture?
2.) Having founded several successful companies, what Scott believes the qualities required to be a good founder are?
3.) The hardest part for Scott in building companies and how he overcome them?
4.) What is Scott's role at EC1, what is he looking for in companies at EC1 and how does that differ from his own angel investments?
5.) At Virgin Start Up, what is the process like to attain funding?
6.) What are Scott's views on early stage funding? Does he agree with the friends and family round?
7.)What would you suggest to entrepreneurs looking to gain external capital?
The episode will then finish with a quick fire round. Where we hear Scott's thoughts on:
Next 5 years for Scott? Asian tech market? Favourite book and why? Most recent investment and why he said yes?
You can follow Harry, Scott and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter
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How to Pitch a Top VC with Simon Menashy @ MMC Ventures
25 mei 2015 · 22 min
Simon Menashy is Investment Director at MMC Ventures where he is responsible for leading new and follow on investments as well as supporting existing MMC portfolio companies. He also sits on the board for WeDo, Boticca and Sky Futures and works closely with a number of other B2B and B2C businesses including Growth Intelligence, Mubi, Small World, Somo. Prior to MMC Simon worked in European tech and media consulting, working with clients including the BBC, Virgin Media, BT, Thompson Reuters and Ofcom as part of the Deloitte Strategy team in London Lees meer
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Base79
Growth Intelligence
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Simon made his move from consulting into the world of VCs?
2.)Simon recently tweeted how not to pitch to VCs, so what should founders be doing when pitching? What are the fundamentals in terms of required documentation?
3.) Does Simon agree with Peter Thiel’s opinion that disruption is fundamentally bad for society? What industries does Simon feel will be next disrupted?
4.) With the increasing length of time it takes for venture backed companies to IPO, how does Simon feel the funding path is changing?
5.) How does Simon believe the tech eco system is going in London and what can be done to increase VC funding and engender a silicon valley esque feel to London?
Today's episode finishes with a quick fire round where we hear Simon's thoughts on the apple watch, what the biggest red flags are when viewing a pitch and his most recent investment and why he said yes?
You can follow Harry, Simon and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter.
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20 VC 038: How Make Connections with VCs and Maximise Employability with Angela Tran Kingyens @ Version One Ventures
21 mei 2015 · 23 min
Angela Tran Kingyens is an associate at Version One Ventures, where Angela manages the day to day activities of the fund from identifying new startups to advising portfolio companies on product. Prior to Version One, Angela Co-Launched Insight Data Science, a Y Combinator backed startup, helping academics transition into a career in industry. In today's episode, Angela describes the best ways to network with VCs, how you can increase employability instantly and the most effective ways to conduct market research! Lees meer
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
mattermark Daily Newsletter
Dan Primack: TermSheet
Fred Wilson: AVC
Good To Great by Jim Collins
Headout: Your Best Local Friend in a New City
In Today's Episode you will Learn:
1.) How Angela made the transition from a career in academia to a YC backed startup to a Palo Alto Venture Fund?
2.) What can individuals do to network effectively with VCs, even if they have no existing VC contacts?
3.) What advice Angela would give to someone looking to leave the academic path for a career in tech? How can they maximise employability?
4.) What should individuals look for when considering incubators? Do they increase the validity of a startup, from the Version One perspective?
5.) Version One specialise in Marketplaces. Why is that? Is it normal for VC funds to specialise? What Angela thinks the future of marketplaces will look like?
6.) How to identify where there are up and coming areas for disruption? What resources are most effective for this market research?
We then finish today's episode with a lightning round where we hear Angela's thoughts on what industry she would never invest in, whether Uber will be a $trillion company, how VCs measure their own success, Angela's favourite business book and her most recent investment and why she said yes?
You can follow Harry, Angela and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter here.
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20 VC 037: How To Get a Job at a Startup, Startup Lessons and Brad Feld's 'Open Office Hours' with Tak Lo, Director @ Techstars
18 mei 2015 · 19 min
Tak Lo is Director at Techstars, helping entrepreneurs do more faster - on both sides of the Atlantic through Techstars London and Techstars NYC. Tak is also Founder at Travelst and Frontlyst. Prior to his road into entrepreneurship, Tak was a Consultant at Deloitte, Booz Allen Hamilton and was a specialist in the US ARMY. In today's incredible episode Tak shares his lessons from his own startup experience, the required reading for all entrepreneurs and of course when thinking TechStars, how can we not discuss the man himself, Brad Feld, and how Tak has adopted Brad's use of open office hours. Lees meer
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Must Read Tech Blogs: Fred Wilson, Brad Feld Thoughts, Tomas Tunguz: Redpoint Capital, Christopher Janz: Point Nine Capital
Must Read Books: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Adam Grant: Give and Take, Peter Thiel: Zero to One, Ben Horowitz: The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Must Have Apps: Buffer: Save Time On Your Social Media, Feedly: The Stories You Need To Keep Ahead
Networking Tools: Silicon Drinkabout, Meetup
Team of Rivals
Adam Grant: Give and Take
Peter Thiel: Zero to One
Ben Horowitz: The Hard Thing About Hard Things
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How and why Tak made the transition first from the army to a career in consulting and then what made Tak take the entrepreneurial route and start his own company?
Tak is renknowned for the amazing service and contribution he brings to every startup. What services does Tak bring and what does Tak feel all entrepreneurs and advisors must add?
Does Tak back singular founders, or does he prefer a founding team?
Tak is a Specialist on Leadership, for founders wanting to gain or develop their leadership skills, what can founders do, read or learn to further their leadership skills?
For individuals contemplating moving into the tech world, how do they know which is the right job? Are there any immediate aspects they must look for or be wary of?
What are th…
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20 VC 036: The Pitching Process: From Email to Term Sheet with Stephan von Perger @ Wellington Partners
14 mei 2015 · 20 min
Stephan von Perger is an Early Stage VC at Wellington Partners where his primary role is identifying investment opportunities and building lasting relationships with the entrepreneurs behind these companies. Stephan started his career at McKinsey before moving to Stylistpick.com as Head of Operations, he then progressed to setup and run the business operations at CityMapper.com. In today's interview Stephan walks us through the pitching process from the first email to signing the term sheet! Lees meer
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How and why Stephan made his move from the world of startups to the venture industry?
What are the right reasons for a founder to enter a round of venture funding?
How should founders go about meeting and connecting with VCs? What can founders actively do to position themselves well and how should founders phrase their emails and communication?
Are there any aspects or buzzwords in emails which instantly make VCs interested?
What documentation is required for the initial meeting? Is there anything founders must bring?
How can founders make the most out of their meeting with VCs? Are there any questions founders should ask? How should founders respond to a question they do not know the answer to?
What happens if a VC says they will contact you but a week later the founder has heard nothing? What should the founder do?
We then finish todays episode with a quick fire round where we hear Stephan's thoughts on which pitch or communication has impressed him the most, what single thing Stephan most looks for in founders and his most recent investment and why he said yes?
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20 VC 035: The Ultimate Marketing Guide for Startups with Jay Acunzo, VP of Platform @ NextView Ventures
11 mei 2015 · 23 min
Jay Acunzo is NextView Ventures VP of Platform and runs the View from Seed blog. At NextView, he leads the creation of business development and educational resources for startups, from board deck templates to mobile workshops to the popular Hitchhiker's Guide to Boston Tech (bostontechguide.com). Prior to NextView, Jay led content marketing and production teams at HubSpot (IPO) and Dailybreak Media (acquired). A former sports journalist, he began his career in tech at Google. As a result of Jay's tremendous success Jay has been named Top 10 B2B Marketer in Boston, 70 Rising Social Media Stars and 100 Most Influential Content Marketers. Lees meer
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Jay's Article in TechCrunch
a16z
GoDaddy
Wordpress
The Weird Things Business People Do On Twitter
The Content Marketing Institute
In Today's Episode you will Learn:
How Jay made his move into the world of tech with Google and how he then transitioned into the world of venture with NextView?
What does VP of Platform really entail? Why has it become an emerging trend in the venture industry?
How is the structure of VCs firms changing, with the likes of a16z moving to a much more service orientated venture fund.
Are there any individuals or sections of society that should or should not be blogging?
How can individuals drive traffic to their blog and what tactics Jay uses to get visitors to his blog?
What Jay would suggest to business and startup founders thinking about whether to start blogging?
What is the best platform to market your content or startup? Is Twitter really an effective marketing tool? How can individuals and businesses increase engagement on Twitter? What not to do on Twitter?
We then finish today's episode with a lightning round where we hear Jay's thoughts on the best and worst aspects as VP of Platform, his best resource for content marketing, his favourite book and why.
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20 VC 034: 250 Investments, AngelList Syndicates and Microsoft with Jon Staenberg
7 mei 2015 · 26 min
Jon Staenberg is one of the most experienced venture capitalists in the Pacific Northwest, having made over 250 startup investments and having raised two funds totaling over $100 million. Jon's investments include the likes of AngelList, StubHub, SAPHO, KitchenBowl (through AngelList syndicates) and many more. If that wasn't enough Jon sits on the boards of Class.com, Micropath and even owns his own vineyard! Previously, Jon worked in the marketing area at Microsoft for six years and is a Stanford alum! Lees meer
Items Mentioned in Today's Episode:
KitchenBowl
Kindara
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Jon started off in the tech industry and then made his move into venture?
2.) Having established 5 companies, what was the hardest element of the process and how did Jon overcome it?
3.) Having invested in over 250 startups what is Jon's investment strategy? What is Jon looking for in startups?
4.) Once invested in a startup, what is Jon's role and what services can VCs bring to a startup?
5.) Whether Jon feels AngelList syndicates are going to change the funding environment? Does it present a challenge to the more traditional VC model?
We then finish with a quick fire round where we hear Jon describe the highlight of his glittering career, the biggest tip Jon would give to an aspiring entrepreneur and his most recent investment and why he said yes?
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20 VC 033: The Pros and Cons of Venture Capital, Atomico and Entrepreneurship with Chris Dark, President International @ C2FO
4 mei 2015 · 26 min
Quote of the Day: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." John F. Kennedy Lees meer
Chris Dark is President International at C2FO, the Union Square Ventures backed company is the priceline for working capital where companies 'name their own price'. Prior to C2FO, Chris was VP at Atomico, the London based venture fund founded by Nicklas Zennstorm. At Atomico, Chris was on the boards of Chemist Direct, Fab, Hailo, Quipper, Wrapp, Knewton, Bebestore, and Gengo. If that wasn't enough Chris has also held roles at AOL, Bain & Co and started his own company GameReplays.org, an early esports community, which Chris built to 1 million uniques per month!
Items Mentioned in Today's Show
Niklass Zennstorm
Kazaa
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Ben Horowitz
Supercell
In Today's Show You Will Learn:
Where it all began for Chris and how he made his move into venture?
What skills Chris learnt from founding his company and how he applied them to the venture industry?
What were the hardest aspects of building Chris' company and how did he overcome them?
What are the best reasons to want to join the venture industry?
What made Chris leave his VP role at Atomico to rejoin the entrepreneurial game with C2FO?
Having both invested in startups and raised funds as a startup, what tips would Chris give to founders potentially entering a round of funding?
How does Chris feel the tech eco system in London is developing and what Chris believes can be done to further improve it?
We finish today's show with a lightning round where we hear Chris' thoughts on whether university is necessary or not, the next 5 years for him and his most recent investment and why he said yes?
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20 VC 032: Inside Y Combinator with Nicolas Michaelsen, Founder @ AirHelp
30 april 2015 · 17 min
In today's show I am joined by the immensely talented Nicolas Michaelsen, Founder & CMO at AirHelp, the go to place if you have grievances during air travel. Nicolas draws back the curtain on the exclusive world of Y Combinator, this includes the admissions process, the infamous interview, the tutoring available to YC startups, the effects of YC on the valuation of startups and the key takeaways from his time at YC. Lees meer
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Kevin Hale: Founded @ Wufoo, Partner @ Y Combinator
Paul Buchheit: Creator of Gmail, Partner @ Y Combinator
In today's show you will learn:
How Nicolas got AirHelp started?
At what point did Nicolas realise that Y Combinator was the place to go?
Had Nicolas considered other more local incubators?
What was the admissions process like? Is there any specific documentation required to apply?
How is the YC interview structured? What type of questions do the partners ask?
What percentage of the partners need to say yes for a startup to be accepted?
How does the tutoring system work at YC? Who did Nicolas receive as tutors for AirHelp?
What is a typical day in the life of a YC startup?
We then finish today's episode by hearing Nicolas' thoughts on his most valuable takeaway from YC, the impact of YC on the valuation of a startup, what the future holds for AirHelp?
If you would like to follow The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter, click here!
If you would like to stay up to date with Nicolas and AirHelp, click here!
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20 VC 031: Investing in Gaming, Luxury Goods and Disruption with Maha Ibrahim, General Partner @ Canaan Partners
27 april 2015 · 21 min
Maha Ibrahim is General Partner at Canaan Partners. Maha is renowned in the venture industry for her ability to to spot technology trends extremely early, proven through Maha being one of the 1st investors to recognise the huge potential of social gaming. As a result, Maha led Canaan's early investment in social games pioneer PicksPal (acquired by Liberty Media) and was a seed investor in Kabam, the world's largest developer of massively multiplayer social games. Due to Maha's incredible success in venture, she was included in Silicon Valley the '40 Under 40' award by The Silicon Valley Business Journal and is a regular on Bloomberg TV. Lees meer
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
The Real Real
ClusterHQ
Lending Club
In today's episode you will learn:
How Maha made her transition into the world of Venture Capital?
As one of the 1st investors in social gaming, what did Maha see that other people did not?
With the gaming industry being as fast moving and fickle as it is, shown through the likes of Zynga's troubles, is Maha concerned for her gaming portfolio companies, in their ability to maintain their dominant presence in the sector?
Maha is an investor in The Real Real, a company which had revenues of over $100m last year. What does Maha believe is the reason for this incredible success and where does she see the future for The Real Real?
Increasing amounts of capital means increasing competition for VCs, what does Maha believe VCs can bring to the table to beat off the competition?
What is Maha most impressed by, in terms of entrepreneurs pitching to her?
Where does Maha believe the next big forms of disruption are coming from?
We finish today's episode with a quick fire round where we hear Maha's thoughts on the hardest part about being a VC, how Maha measures her success as a VC and her most recent investment and why she said yes?
You can follow Maha on Twitter here!
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20 VC 030: VC Funds, Angels and IPOs with John Taylor, Head of Research @ NVCA
23 april 2015 · 23 min
In today's show I am joined by John Taylor, a nationally recognised authority in the venture capital and entrepreneurial finance sector. Currently, John is Head of Research at the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). In 2003, he co-founded the NVCA CFO Task Force which focuses on regulation and emerging issues dealing with a diverse range of Lees meer
Some of the many gems of this conversation include: where venture funds actually obtain their funds from, what is the main difference between an angel and a VC, what investors expect from their VCs, how has the IPO market changed since 2000, what do VCs look for in potential investments, how do VCs manage their time, what is the typical workload of a VC, can University students go straight into the VC industry?
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Dave McClure | Lean VC | 500 Startups
Andreeson Horowitz
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20 VC 029: The Potential Upside To A Technology Bubble with TechCrunch's Brandon Lipman
20 april 2015 · 19 min
The debate over whether or not we are in a tech bubble is dominating the minds of many in the tech world and today Harry talks to major player, Brandon Lipman, Co-Founder of 3DLT and writer of the recent TechCrunch Article: The Potential Upside To A Technology Bubble. Brandon shares his views on why seed deals have decreased by 300%, following from Scott Nolan's TechCrunch article, Brandon answers Does Burn Rate Really Matter, what sectors will survive or thrive in a tech bubble and why companies are preferring to raise later rounds rather than go public. They also dive into the dogfight between Meerkat and Periscope, the biggest winners from a bubble and the companies Brandon is most excited about. Lees meer
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Chris Sacca and Tony Hawk with Jason Calacanis on TWIST
500 Startups: Dave McClure on Stanford's Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders
MatterMark Complete Report
Meerkat vs Periscope
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20 VC 028: Co-Founding TechCrunch and The Benefits of Not Raising Venture Funding with Keith Teare
16 april 2015 · 29 min
Keith Teare is the Founder of Palo Alto incubator, Archimedes Labs whose incubated startups include the likes of M.Dot (acquired by GoDaddy), TechCrunch (acquired by AOL) and Ivan Kalanick's Red Swoosh. Keith is also the Co-Founder of TechCrunch alongside Michael Arrington. Prior to TechCrunch Keith founded RealNames Corporation raising more than £130m of venture funding before filing for an IPO with an implied valuation of £1.5bn. Lees meer
Items Mentioned in Today's Show:
Michael Arrington
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
Chat Center: Universal Chat for Everyone on the Planet
DownTown App: Your Personal Waiter
Weendy: Sunshine App
What you will learn in todays show:
How did Keith get into the tech world at a time when technology was not mainstream?
A venture of Keith's, Cyberia was heavily used by women. Does Keith believe that there have been improvements in balancing the gender gap?
What Keith believes can be done to reduce the gender inequality that persists throughout the tech sector?
How did Keith's Co-Founding of TechCrunch with Michael Arrington come about?
Why did Keith try and persuade Michael not to create TechCrunch?
What are the benefits of bootstrapping your startup and not raising venture funding?
Why Keith was never able to raise venture funding in the UK?
How is the valley different from creating a company in the UK?
Keith's beliefs on the barbell venture capital ecosystem that persists in the US?
We then finish today's episode with a quick fire round where we hear the best advice Keith has ever been given, the highlight of his career so far and the 3 companies that he is most excited about and why?