20VC Newsletter - 6th Oct 2024
Here are the transcripts and top takeaways from 20VC episodes released this last week!
Monday’s episode with Donald Tang, Executive Chairman @ SHEIN:
Download the full transcript:
My 6 key takeaways:
Is SHEIN a Chinese or American Company?
We are a glocalized company.
If you want your business to thrive globally, you need to become a local community business.
The trend of parachuting in a country to make money does not work anymore.
Why Does SHEIN Want to go Public
We are no longer a startup & we operate in 150+ countries.
We wanted to embrace public diligence & scrutiny.
Once you become a public company, transparency is a responsibility.
The SHEIN Algorithm That Powers It's $65BN Business
We have a network connecting customers & small/medium sized factories.
We measure customer demand in real-time which tells factories what to make.
Our unsold inventory is <10% - the market average is 25-35%.
Why SHEIN Wants to Embrace, Not Fight Tariffs
Everybody wants to level the playing field because that helps fair competition.
Like TSA Pre, compliance will actually speed up the process.
It ultimately helps the consumers & protects the business.
How to Deal with Regret
If you have made a decision, don’t think about it.
There is no point thinking about the things you haven’t done.
Just keep on making decisions moving forward.
Billionaire Chairman of SHEIN on Advice to Young People Entering Work
You have to be on demand.
Figure out who you are, what the world demands & how you can fulfil it.
That is the fastest way to become valuable.
Wednesday’s episode with Bret Taylor, Co-Founder @ Sierra:
Download the full transcript:
My 7 key takeaways:
Are we in an AI bubble?
History doesn’t repeat itself but it rhymes: the ai bubble will rhyme with the .com bubble.
Brand-defining trillion-dollar companies come out of this.
There will still be areas of excess that are dangerous to miss.
The Area of AI I am Most Excited For
We are still in the early days of applications.
Companies are building products that solve problems outside of productivity.
There will be tons of value there.
Why Companies Will Not Build Their Own Software
Software is like a lawn, it needs to be tended to.
The cost of building & maintaining software is too high.
Every company that’s built their own when there was existing software available has regretted it.
If You Are Not an AGI Lab and You Are Doing Pre-Training You Are a Moron
You are burning capital.
The last thing you want to do while finding PMF is investing in a massive data centre.
We have lots of high quality models available, spending capital on pre-training is nonsensical.
The Most Responsible Way to Develop AGI
It is through responsible iterative deployment.
The best way to learn how these models benefit humanity is to consistently release them.
Learn about the experiences & vulnerabilities and improve it at every turn.
How to be a Truly Great Board Member
It is about how to be involved enough without jumping into operations & how to give advice that the management team actually hears.
Find an operating cadence to get information you need to provide good advice.
Don’t treat every engagement the same: Different teams have different businesses and ways to take advice.
What Makes Zuck So Special?
Anytime I thought I was thinking long-term, he was always thinking 2x farther.
He is willing to take unpopular bets in the short term for the long term goal.
Very few have this amount of relentless focus on the future.
Friday’s episode with Maria Angelidou-Smith, Chief Product & Technology Officer @ Personio:
Download the full transcript:
My 5 key takeaways:
Transition from IC to Manager
There are 2 things that will change:
You are responsible for all the products your team is working on.
You are responsible for the people on your team.
The sooner you change your mindset about these 2 the better.
Promotions Need to Be Lagging Not Leading
You only promote people when they’ve consistently demonstrated that they can operate successfully at that level.
Promote too early & they are compared to the next cohort of people who are already successful.
This can really hurt their career.
3 PM Archetypes
Aside from generalist there are 3 others:
Captain: Excels in managing complex projects.
Entrepreneur: Incredible at zero to ones.
Specialist: Deep expertise in a specific domain.
These allow ICs to progress all the way to VP.
Women Negotiate Less Than Men on Pay
There is a misconception that that could reflect badly on your relationship with the manager.
You should always negotiate on comp.
If you’re not comfortable, negotiate with the recruiter.
Difference Between US and EU for Work Ethic
In the US people feel like their jobs are a bigger part of their identity.
In Europe this is less of a phenomenon.
When you feel your job is important to you personally, you put in more effort.
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:
Eiso Kant, CTO & Co-Founder @ Poolside AI
Jeff Wang, Managing Partner @ Sequoia Capital
Eoghan McCabe, CEO & Founder @ Intercom
Thank you for reading 20VC.
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