20VC Newsletter - 1st December 2024
Here are the transcripts and top takeaways from 20VC episodes released this last week.
Monday’s episode with Jason Citron, Co-Founder & CEO @ Discord:
Download the full transcript:
My 6 key takeaways:
The Unlock for a $10BN Company: Ask for Product Feedback
We posted links on gaming subreddits and asked for feedback.
People tried it out & we got 50 new users from one post.
We used this playbook for several months & it started to snowball from there.
The Period Where I Made the Most Mistakes and Had to Unlearn All Conventional Wisdom
We grew from 200 to 1,000 employees within 2.5 years.
I followed best practices: I hired execs, set the vision, delegated work, etc.
It was a horrible mistake; we did a lot of things that did not resonate with our customers.
The Most Effective Way to Lead
When we plan for the year, I will tell my team the problem spaces I want to focus on.
They’ll come back to me, and I’ll pick the projects myself.
I will not let my teams pick their own projects just to feel “empowered.”
How This $10BN CEO Replaced Meetings With Video Recordings
When we do product reviews, I’ll have people send over video recordings.
I’ll provide feedback via video recording and only hold meetings if they have more questions.
It saves so much time vs. a 20-person meeting where everybody wants to speak.
How to Onboard Execs Perfectly
I don’t expect them to do any work in the first 60 days.
Their onboarding process should be:
Month 1: Meet people, learn everything & develop a point of view.
Month 2: Start expressing some of that viewpoint with me
Month 3: Fully take over & lead the team.
This sets them up for success.
Why Gaming Makes the Best Entrepreneurs
You are overcoming challenges by failing repeatedly and learning from them: That is a growth mindset.
You are learning how to cooperate when you play with others.
It’s a microcosm of life, where you’re learning the skills required to run a company without even noticing.
Wednesday’s episode with Klaus Hommels, Founder & Managing Partner @ Lakestar:
Download the full transcript:
My 8 key takeaways:
Why Venture Capital Is Just Outsourced Biz Dev
The entrepreneur is the star.
I am a feature to increase the odds of their success.
Venture is not a job where you’re sitting in a nice office using borrowed power from LPs.
When I Had an Investing Hit I Did Not Invest for 3 Months
Success will make you think you can walk over water.
You need to stay humble.
If you lose your cool you will make silly mistakes.
Europe Is Under Financing Innovation by a Factor of 8
Europe used to finance 4% of its GDP into innovation in the 50s-70s.
Now it is 0.5%.
Regulations have made venture the only compliant way to finance innovation in Europe.
Do Not Build Portfolios Just Invest in Cool Companies
There’s a lot of things we don’t know about the market so trying to build an ecosystem is incredibly hard.
If I find cool companies that make a difference, that’s where the beef is.
If you have one or two of them every portfolio looks great.
Young Technical Founders Will Change the Future of Europe
We had little to no technical founders in the 2000s because most of Europe were copycat nations.
Most people were afraid of becoming self-employed.
Now it’s changing; the quality of founders coming out of universities today is drastically different.
Why This Billionaire Is Not Price Sensitive
If my winners were 30% more expensive, I would still do them.
We are in the business of making right judgments, not the business of buyouts.
Price is a hygiene factor that signals mutual respect and understanding with the founder.
How a Billionaire’s Son Led to a Investment in Revolut
Our UK team missed it initially.
I saw my son raving about the app with his friends.
I immediately ordered my team to get on the cap table.
Why Europe Is Unable to Send Satellites for 6 Years
Arianespace sold 100% of its transport capacity to Amazon.
We cannot get a slot in SpaceX because of all the restrictions.
There are no other alternatives for Europe.
Friday’s episode with Guy Podjarney, Founder & CEO @ Tessl:
Download the full transcript:
My 5 key takeaways:
Why AI Will Not Replace All SaaS Businesses
They are far more than the software they create.
There is data, there is distribution, there is switching costs…
If your only differentiation is the code, your days are numbered.
Why Google Will Beat Perplexity
People do not adopt new technologies that quickly.
Google has an advantage in user access & distribution.
They can just copy Perplexity.
Why GPT-5 Is Further Away Than People Think
Sam Altman and others have changed their tune when talking about reasoning.
There is probably some architectural problem.
There will likely be 1-2 years where things are stuck.
How Does the Role of Software Developers Change
The best software devs are not only good at coding; they also think about the development as a whole.
More devs will move into an architectural role.
Coding will still be alive but substantially diminished.
Biggest Advice to Other Founders
Look for ideas that need work to convince other people, something that requires some depth.
There are probably 1000 other companies doing things people are immediately excited about.
That will be very hard to succeed.
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:
Nik Storonsky, Founder & CEO @ Revolut
George Arison, CEO @ Grindr
Zachary Bookman, Co-Founder & CEO @ OpenGov
Thank you for reading 20VC.
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