20VC Newsletter - 18th August 2024
Here are the transcripts and top takeaways from 20VC episodes released this last week!
Monday’s episode with Shaun Maguire, Partner @ Sequoia Capital:
Download the full transcript:
My 10 key takeaways:
Why DEI is BS and How it Will Destroy The West
DEI supports equal outcomes not equal opportunities.
It means you can have quotas against hiring white men.
It is a toxic, woke ideology that is cancer for society.
Why Iran is the Greatest Evil in the World
They are happy to oppress their own people, the people of Gaza & the people of Israel.
They are deeply responsible for the global drug trade.
The Iranian philosophy when you're losing is to create chaos & they’re creating as much chaos in the world as possible.
Will We See WW3 Happen Soon?
It will be a large regional war but highly unlikely unless China is involved.
If Iran thinks Kamala Harris will win they will wait six months.
If they think Trump will win they will do what they need to do now because they’re afraid of him.
Trump was the Best President at Dealing with China and Russia
Trump famously warned NATO leaders about Russia at a NATO breakfast.
They all laughed at him.
The liberal elites were clueless; Trump was our best president at dealing with Russia & China.
Is Europe Fucked and Why Dubai is on Fire
The entire West is in decline relative to the East.
The UAE nailed their policies & they’re doing better than anywhere else.
You can still have a great life & build great companies in Europe but those chances are lowering.
Why I Want to Bring My Kids Up in Israel
I want my kids to grow up with resilience and grit.
Being on the receiving end of information warfare shows you what the tactics are.
It gives you immunity against complacency & laziness.
The Management Hack that Musk and The Collisons Use to Ensure Quality Across Functions
They randomly sample every single part of their company at all times.
They will follow a junior engineer’s onboarding process or listen in on a manager meeting
They can diagnose problems early & solve them before it gets worse.
Elon Musk is One of the Best Spotters of Young Talent Ever
He doesn’t need someone to be from a non-obvious background.
He can meet someone off the street.
Because he’s an expert on so many things he can go deep on multiple topics.
Why The US Selling BTC is a Mega Mistake
Selling $2BN of bitcoin does not make a difference.
China is trying to weaken the dollar & a lot of oil trade is happening in Yuan now.
It is one of the stupidest decisions of all time.
Biggest Lessons from Working with Doug Leone
Three things:
Have a sense of humor with everything you’re doing.
Be maximally direct
Do not waste anyone’s time.
Combining 1 and 2 is a game changer.
Wednesday’s episode with Kaz Nejatian, COO @ Shopify:
Download the full transcript:
My 9 key takeaways:
Why the Lean Startup Did More Damage Than Any Other Book
The book taught a generation of founders that it is ok to ship product you are not proud of.
That is why we have a load of crap software.
People should ship things they’re proud of & not for the sake of testing.
More Founders Have Come out of Meta than any other company
When you analyze the number of $100M+ companies that have been started by ex Facebook employees versus ex employees of other major tech companies.
All of them combined were less than meta.
Most Software Companies Pick Fights They Do Not Need to Fight
A lot of software companies are actually complimentary.
Stripe, Affirm, & Meta are all powerful partnerships we have.
We understand what’s our job & what’s theirs.
Why Shopify Expects All Sales and Marketing People to be Able to Code
If our marketers want to create a landing page, they have to go to GitHub.
We always want people to learn new things. We will gladly teach them SQL.
What is the Job of a PM
Build the right things, the right way, at the right time.
Understand and represent the user’s best outcomes, not best wishes.
If the user is not better off, there is only one person to blame.
Why Being Remote is the Worst Idea for Most Companies
The reason it works for Shopify is because we spent so much time building tools & systems to make it work.
If you go remote without the right preparations you will 100% fail.
I strongly recommend everyone to not do it.
Why 90% of Job Postings are BS and What a Learner’s Mindset Means
Job postings that require 10+ years of experience are against a learner’s mindset.
People who are more experienced apply their experience and learn less.
You have to pick one.
Why Mark Zuckerberg and Meta are So Under-appreciated
Mark’s ability to understand risk is unparalleled.
Newsfeed is the biggest risk Mark took that has paid off massively.
Their bets in AR and VR will be mega winners for them.
Their partnership with Rayban is their iPhone moment.
The Three Things to Care About in a Marriage
You
Your wife
Your marriage
These are 3 different things that need to be independently cared about.
You could be taking care of you & your wife but not your marriage.
Friday’s episode with Laela Sturdy, Managing Partner @ CapitalG:
Download the full transcript:
My 5 key takeaways:
Biggest Lesson from 10 Years Investing: Do Not Rely on Act II
A lot of companies did not have a strong core business & we were relying on the 2nd & 3rd act.
The chances of success are extremely low.
Now I only underwrite what exists today as the base case.
Biggest Mistake Companies at Growth Make
They are not making enough concentrated bets in the 2nd & 3rd act.
It is simply not large enough to make an impact on the core business & future revenue streams.
They need to focus on their new acts while balancing the core business.
Do you Need $500M in Revs to Go Public?
You don’t need $500M to go public but you need the discipline to deliver results.
Predictability is the biggest challenge for going public.
The best public companies need to tell a story & execute.
I Would Invest in Non-Founder-Led Companies
Some founders prefer building early-stage companies.
They need a partner that can lead them to different stages of the company.
Satya @ Microsoft is one of them.
The Best Deals Never Feel Obvious
I got pushback on Stripe because it was a commodity market with no real differentiation.
I got pushback on UiPath because people doubted RPA as a category creator.
You need to find the conviction but also find it at the right price.
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:
Aidan Gomez, CEO @ Cohere
Aman Narang, CEO @ Toast
Thank you for reading 20VC.
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