The Road Untraveled: VC Perspectives with Brian Hollins

Key Takeaways

1. Exceptional founders understand "what matters most". They help triage what is most important and help their teams deliver on the priorities that matter most for the growth of the business.

2. Founders must be "learning animals"- ready to scale and upskill at all times. They must surround themselves with smart talent, ask questions, and practice maintaining self-awareness.

3. Edtech trends- lots of strong competition in learning, onboarding, etc. but one underinvested ecosystem is the outplacement and transition segment. This while complete the loop within edtech, and we should expect to see more companies come out of there soon. 

4. VC diversity- Organizations like BLCKVC are paving the way for new diverse entrants to the ecosystem, but senior leadership of Firm's must be committed to changing the composition of their teams in order for diversity to grow and be long lasting within a company.

Jeff Harbach, President & CEO, Kauffman Fellows

Key Takeaways

In this episode we talk about the 4 Pillars For Success Jeff has spotted through his time leading Kauffman Fellows. To learn more about The Kauffman Fellows program, visit https://www.kauffmanfellows.org/

Key Takeaways:

1. 70% of the value in tech has been created by catalyzing network effects within the core business.

2. Competition in the venture ecosystem is good for business. The disbalance of power in the past caused bad behavior, and more competition is good for Founders and helps them find the best partner for their specific endeavor.

3. Look for Founder's who can take other peoples perspectives. A lot of Founders aren't self critical enough, and don't live in the shoes of the customer or investor or their employee enough, and the skill of seeing something as others see it allows you to be a better builder, mentor, negotiator and leader.

4. For folks breaking into venture, find a fund you can relate with and is in tune with your ethos. Also leverage your experience but recognize that it may be a bias, so spend time seeing things from multiple angles and learn from those around you.

David Tisch, Founder & Managing Partner, Box Group

Key Takeaways,

1) Behind every great company are people, and it's our job to identify the best teams and try to convince them to let us work with them. 

2) Friends give advice, parents tell people what to do. The best investors are friends, who prioritize Founder interest over their own.

3) The process of finding great companies never ends. You must commit to the focus of building concentric networks and diligently looking in places others aren't looking.

4) "`Don't ever short the future." It is hard to proactively identify the trends of the future, but showing up with a prepared mind before meeting Founders is the only way to be ready to fund and win the next big opportunity.

Leyla Seka, Partner, Operator Collective

Key Takeaways:

1) Build consensus within an organization and work in the background to gain momentum before asking for support. Bring in a holistic view and others opinions to make sure you are analyzing all the valid perspectives.

2) Come solution oriented when you are working to create change.

3) There's no finish line to equality work. The country is not equal, and I encourage people to take action and find ways to pave the path for those who come after us.

4) Identify complimentary skillsets to build effective teams and partnerships.

Jamin Ball, Redpoint Ventures

Key Takeaways:

1. Productivity tools, remote collaboration and cloud security are three areas seeing momentum due to the move to remote during the pandemic.

2. Net revenue retention and GM adjusted CAC Payback are two metrics he watches to see if a company has what it takes to succeed in public markets.

3. Don't underestimate the value of the day to day relationships and time spent with founders. Treat people with respect, and recognize that their feedback will impact your reputation.

Crystal Widjaja, Startup Advisor & Sequoia Scout

Key Takeaways:

1) Spending time operating before venture helps you better understand the drivers of growth in a company, and it's helpful when you sit on the other side because it helps you identify founders who really understand the journey.

2) As you begin scout investing, develop your thesis around team specific product experiences. Some teams may like a product in a way that other teams don't, and make sure the companies you are scouting understand which user to sell to for their product.

3) Look for tenacious founders that are looking to do the hardwork and truly understand what their users care about.

Semil Shah, Managing Partner, Haystack VC

Key Takeaways:

1) LP's struggle to deploy capital without face to face opportunities, so emerging managers are not being funded as quickly as they hoped. On the flip side, many LP's are excited about the pending reset in asset prices from a downturn, and funding may pick up sooner than expected as they search for improved returns over the next decade.

2) The investors that are able to play offense through these times have triaged the portfolio effectively and are now focused on upside maximization.

3) COVID provides tailwinds, but many of these tailwinds are obvious in times like this (telemedicine, online education, collaboration software, etc). Funds should be careful before building a portfolio just off of the current times. 

Olivia and Justine Moore, CRV

Key Takeaways:

1. Sourcing: college students are often the first adopters of next gen consumer platforms, and being around the college campus is a great way to get involved.

2. Finding trends: follow a diverse range of creators outside of your friend community to see what new products and apps are gaining traction. 

3. Value add VCs: spending time with founders and asking what they need help with matters. The challenge in covid is that some companies have been wiped out and others are thriving as a result, so understanding which founders need what types of support is important. 

Courtside VC, Founding Partners (Vasu Kulkarni + Deepen Parikh)

Key takeaways:

1. Sports is a global gateway, and there is a lot of pent up demand for it. It's not a matter of if, but when, and there will be significant momentum when it can finally return.

2. 75% of betting in Europe is in game betting, while only 25% in the US. There is a lot of technology that goes into making that possible, and many of which will start taking off.

3. Nascent tech being tested and slow rolled over the past few years will be forced into adoption in the next few years to make up for lost revenue.