June 28, 2024

20VC: Raising $126M Across 3 Rounds in Just 6 Months, Being the Youngest Founder of a Unicorn Company | But Everything Was Not as it Seemed: The Real Story of Vise: The Regrets, Mistakes and Mis-Hires with Vise's Samir Vasavada

Listen Later

59 minutes

Samir Vasavada is the Co-Founder & CEO of Vise, a technology-powered asset manager. Samir and his co-founder, Runik founded Vise from the Midwest at 16 years old. They bootstrapped the company before dropping out of high school and raising $128M in just 6 months from some of the best including Sequoia Capital and Founders Fund. The company achieved unicorn status when the pair turned 20 years old, making them the youngest founders of a $BN company at the time.

In Today's Episode with Samir Vasavada We Discuss:

1. The Biggest Hiring Mistakes That Broke Us:

Why is hiring people who come with a playbook one of the most damaging things you can do?
Why is it impossible to build a remote company that performs the same as in person?
Why is it the worst thing to hire people who have a reputation they are obsessed with maintaining?
Why do you never want to hire people who join because of who your investors are?
Why does Samir regret not firing people faster? How much time is enough time to know?
Why is hiring in a hot market one of the most dangerous things you can do?

2. Fundraising: 3 Rounds and $126M in 6 Months:

Does Samir regret raising so much money so soon in the company life?
What did Samir do that he regrets doing, having had so much money so early?
How did the need for free food at an event lead to a term sheet and $50M from Sequoia?
Did Samir feel that he could talk to investors when things were going really badly?
Why does Samir believe that liquidation preference matters more than valuation?

3. The Depression, The Pressure and Wisdom From Jensen Huang:

What did Jensen Huang teach Samir when it comes to wealth and leadership?
How did Samir deal with the pressure of raising $126M in 6 months and being the youngest unicorn founder, ever at the time?
Was Samir hurt when people he thought were his friends, no longer stuck with him when the company was no longer "hot"?
What was Samir's darkest time? How did he overcome and get out of it?
Does Samir blame his parents for the pressure they put on him from such a young age?

...more

View all episodes

View all episodes

Download on the App Store

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

By Harry Stebbings

4.4

478478 ratings

June 28, 2024

20VC: Raising $126M Across 3 Rounds in Just 6 Months, Being the Youngest Founder of a Unicorn Company | But Everything Was Not as it Seemed: The Real Story of Vise: The Regrets, Mistakes and Mis-Hires with Vise's Samir Vasavada

Listen Later

59 minutes

Samir Vasavada is the Co-Founder & CEO of Vise, a technology-powered asset manager. Samir and his co-founder, Runik founded Vise from the Midwest at 16 years old. They bootstrapped the company before dropping out of high school and raising $128M in just 6 months from some of the best including Sequoia Capital and Founders Fund. The company achieved unicorn status when the pair turned 20 years old, making them the youngest founders of a $BN company at the time.

In Today's Episode with Samir Vasavada We Discuss:

1. The Biggest Hiring Mistakes That Broke Us:

Why is hiring people who come with a playbook one of the most damaging things you can do?
Why is it impossible to build a remote company that performs the same as in person?
Why is it the worst thing to hire people who have a reputation they are obsessed with maintaining?
Why do you never want to hire people who join because of who your investors are?
Why does Samir regret not firing people faster? How much time is enough time to know?
Why is hiring in a hot market one of the most dangerous things you can do?

2. Fundraising: 3 Rounds and $126M in 6 Months:

Does Samir regret raising so much money so soon in the company life?
What did Samir do that he regrets doing, having had so much money so early?
How did the need for free food at an event lead to a term sheet and $50M from Sequoia?
Did Samir feel that he could talk to investors when things were going really badly?
Why does Samir believe that liquidation preference matters more than valuation?

3. The Depression, The Pressure and Wisdom From Jensen Huang:

What did Jensen Huang teach Samir when it comes to wealth and leadership?
How did Samir deal with the pressure of raising $126M in 6 months and being the youngest unicorn founder, ever at the time?
Was Samir hurt when people he thought were his friends, no longer stuck with him when the company was no longer "hot"?
What was Samir's darkest time? How did he overcome and get out of it?
Does Samir blame his parents for the pressure they put on him from such a young age?

...more

More shows like The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

This Week in Startups by Jason Calacanis

This Week in Startups

1,281 Listeners

a16z Podcast by Andreessen Horowitz

a16z Podcast

1,043 Listeners

The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors by SaaStr

The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

177 Listeners

Founders by David Senra

Founders

1,937 Listeners

Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy by Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts

Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy

2,290 Listeners

Equity by TechCrunch, Rebecca Bellan, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, Max Zeff, Theresa Loconsolo

Equity

339 Listeners

Y Combinator Startup Podcast by Y Combinator

Y Combinator Startup Podcast

227 Listeners

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

9,263 Listeners

No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups by Conviction

No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups

129 Listeners

The Ben & Marc Show by Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz

The Ben & Marc Show

125 Listeners

BG2Pod with Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley by BG2Pod

BG2Pod with Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley

463 Listeners

AI + a16z by a16z

AI + a16z

32 Listeners

Lightcone Podcast by Y Combinator

Lightcone Podcast

21 Listeners

Training Data by Sequoia Capital

Training Data

43 Listeners

Uncapped with Jack Altman by Alt Capital

Uncapped with Jack Altman

36 Listeners