20VC Newsletter - 16th February 2025
Here are the transcripts and top takeaways from 20VC episodes released this last week.
Monday’s episode with Sridhar Ramaswamy, CEO @ Snowflake:
Download the full transcript:
My 6 key takeaways:
Good or Bad Bubble?
If the bulk of investments are going into power & buildings we are creating a surplus for the world.
If it is going into crazily depreciating hardware that is value disappearing.
It is still too early to tell.
Why OpenAI Can K*ll Any Startup *
The line between an infrastructure provider & an application provider today is super blurry.
If there is a new app, there is no guarantee that OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, or Google won't create it themselves.
The incumbents are no longer slow.
Why OpenAI is Better than DeepSeek and Anthropic *
ChatGPT is a product, not a model.
They don't only operate at the model level—if they can host DeepSeek to power ChatGPT, they will.
It's the little features like image generation and file upload that give them staying power.
Will Software Engineering Reduce in Importance with AI
The internet narrowed down professions like journalism & music.
There is still a ton of opportunity in applying software & AI in other fields.
Software engineering is not going to disappear anytime soon.
How Google Came to Conquer the World
They did a bunch of deals to become the default search engine everywhere.
They first went for Yahoo, then AOL, Firefox, and all the PC manufacturers.
They created universal search, which conquered every other vertical.
Are Databricks Advantaged over Snowflake by Being Private?
They have 2x the amount of salespeople we have & do not worry about free cashflow.
We operate with more constraints but that is what innovation is about.
Having more capital is not always a good thing.
Top comments from the show:
Open source can win in terms of how things are built but open source products almost never work when they are consumer facing - @kingcuckoo (YT)
Love the candor, direct talk Sridhar - @Tonywkim (YT)
Wednesday’s episode with Fabien Pinckaers, Founder & CEO @ Odoo:
Download the full transcript:
My 6 key takeaways:
Why Odoo Will Never Sell
We never want to sell the company.
We are always buying shares, every funding round.
That is why we don’t mind if the share price is low.
Why There Will Never Be an Odoo IPO
I don’t want the constraints & complexity of being public.
Public companies tend to refocus on the short term.
We always want to build for the long term.
Why It Is Easier to Scale With Young People
It is easier to scale when you don’t need to get the top people.
We recruit a lot of young people, train them & make them evolve.
It is much easier than spending too much time looking for the best VP of a category.
Hire Talent from Tier 2 Cities
The key to scaling a business is talent retention.
There will be high turnover rates when you are next to Google or Apple.
We do not have that issue in Buffalo.
The Danger When You Have Managers of Managers
They all have ideas & want to do something.
This will push everyone to complexify the company.
You have to fight back against that if you want to keep your company simple.
This Company Allows Everyone to Have Their Own Titles
Some people choose to be directors, other people pick funny titles.
We do not care.
I want to push the idea that it’s about what you do & not the title you have.
Top Comments from the show:
SAP must fear this man. He’s the most single minded / focussed founder you’ve had on the pod. Almost maniacal! - @eayajf (YT)
Odoo’s unconventional approach proves success lies in simplicity, long-term vision, and autonomy - Luke Tobin (LinkedIn)
Behind the Scenes
Friday’s episode with Solly Solomou, Founder & CEO @ LADbible:
Download the full transcript:
The Public Company That Has Been Profitable Since Day 1
When I started I didn’t understand the concept of taking on investment & growing the business.
All I knew was I had to make more money than I spent.
So we were profitable from day 1.
I Wish I Had Started the Business in the US
It is a 400M people market vs. a 70M people market.
We want to be the market leader in entertainment in the next 5 years.
If we started the same thing in the US it would be on a completely different scale.
Difference between US and UK in How We Do Business
In the UK we are very conservative, in the US they get straight into it.
They celebrate success & there is a supportive culture there for business.
If you’re hungry & ambitious, the US is a great environment.
We Might List in the US
We have a bigger business in the US.
We need to continue to build on the success of Betches & our organic business.
A dual listing might be the way to go.
The Revitalisation of the UK Public Market
I had a chat with the CEO of the London Stock Exchange & they have interesting plans to rebuild the UK public market.
There is a huge amount of capital sitting in ISAs and low return pension funds.
We could utilize them to grow at higher rates.
Why TikTok Shop Is So Interesting
They are expected to be a $1TN market in the next five years.
They are nailing D2C and their creator program.
They want to be the next Amazon.
What I Know Now That I Wish I Had Known
I should have taken more time with hiring.
I should have been clear on what the culture is.
The person with additional experience & technical skills may not be the right hire if they are not a cultural fit.
Behind the Scenes
Let us know what your big takeaways from this week’s shows were in the comments below!
Thank you for reading, and don’t miss the great guests we have next week:
Jonathan Ross, Founder & CEO @ groq
Oscar Pierre, Co-Founder & CEO @ Glovo
Julian Teixeira, CRO @ 1Password
Thank you for reading 20VC.
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