After reviewing many of my notes and direct quotes from current and former Kleiner Perkins partners, I decided I would elaborate on five questions I'd ask founders if I were a partner at Kleiner Perkins debating an investment decision.

I think this will be a helpful thought exercise for founders who intend to raise to think about your answers to some of these questions as I believe they are questions an investor would ask whether Kleiner Perkins or not, so It’d be good to think about.

For investors, it’s good to think about the questions you like to ask founders and why and read some of these quotes from Kleiner Perkins partners, who are certainly some of the best investors in the world, so it’s worth reading this information and maybe adding some of these questions to your list if you think they’re effective.

More All Things VC:

To read this podcast in an abbreviated format, check out the substack: All Things VC. It has the same content as the podcast, just a little more direct with less improv.

To read more about Benchmark and 15 other companies they invested in that we didn’t discuss, more on their general investment theses, what makes a good VC, what they look for in founders, and general advice for founders, head to allthingsvc.blog to read more.

You can also follow me on X at Justin_Pryor_ for more information I post throughout the week based on what I discussed in this episode. Likewise, you can find All Things VC on YouTube to see clips of these episodes separated by each major topic I discuss.

Intro music: High St. by Alex Dethero

Chapters:

1. How do your Users use the Product? 02:42

2. How will this Product Expand? 10:18

3. What are the "White-Hot" RIsks Facing your business right now? What do you need to Mitigate Them? 17:34

4. Have you ever Sold Anything Before? 24:10

5. What is the Base Case, and what is the Irrationally Optimistic Case for your Business? 31:12