20VC Newsletter - May 19th 2024
Here are the transcripts and top takeaways from 20VC episodes released this last week!
Monday’s episode with Tom Blomfield, GP at YC:
Download the full transcript:
My 7 key takeaways:
Founder Matters Above Everything Else
Picking the highest quality founders trumps everything else, even if the idea is stupid.
Work with the best founders & everything else is easier to fix down the line.
It’s something I learned over and over again at YC.
The Key Skill of the Best Founders
They are able to hold two realities in their head:
The best outcome, what this could become if everything works out.
The next top priority for this week & this month.
Only having #1 makes you a bullshitter.
Only having #2 makes you too execution focused.
The best founders need to have both.
Biggest Mistake Founders Make in the Batch Process
Being afraid to launch too early.
Keep your initial product super narrow & quality bar super high.
Too many founders launch products with many mediocre features.
Are All the Best YC Companies Funded at Demo Day
The best YC companies always raise before Demo Day.
We’ve set a rule where founders are allowed to raise 2 weeks before the event.
They will get better terms with a competitive process & lots of people bidding.
Why Founders are not Likeable People
Founders have to be contrarian.
I was not likeable in my first job & I tried to fix everything.
If you agree with everything, you’re never going to create something different.
Biggest Risk to YC Today
Being complacent & resting on our laurels.
Falling into a cycle of recruiting bad partners & giving bad advice.
It would be a ten year long decay before we realise it’s fucked.
Positive Mindset of US vs EU
Nobody believed in me when I was starting Monzo in the UK.
I tell people about it in the US and everyone wants to help.
Americans have this optimism that is antithetical to British culture.
In the UK, there is a ‘know your place’ mindset.
Wednesday’s episode with Dan Siroker, CEO & Co-Founder at Limitless:
Download the full transcript:
My 7 key takeaways:
The Importance of Focus
I worked on thousands of things at my first company & thought everything was important.
In hindsight, there were only 3 or 4 things that made a difference.
Founders need to distinguish between which tasks are truly important & focus on them.
The Big Secret When An Investor Asks How Much Are You Raising?
They are actually asking how much you think you’re worth.
Instead of giving a number, say you’re selling a certain percentage & letting the market decide the valuation.
This annoys investors because they don’t get what they want.
Elad Gil on When and How to Pivot
The things that work tend to work really fast.
Sticking it out & being perseverant doesn’t always work.
You have to see some glimmer of hope in the early days.
Contrarian View on Selling Stock as Employees
Founders should let employees sell their stock at any point.
I’ve let my employees sell up to 25% when we were oversubscribed in our series A.
My theory is more liquidity = more retention.
When They Bring up Title It Is a Bad Sign
It shows you where their values are.
The best people I’ve hired never brought up titles during the interview.
They care about the problem & the company.
Why Always Be Raising is Total BS
You need to have an on & off switch on fundraising.
I have all my investor meetings in a week every two quarters.
This removes any distractions when I’m building the company.
The Best Question Peter Fenton Asks Founders
"What will excite you about being at this business in five years?"
Great founders need to be perseverant.
They have to stay in love with the business in 5, 10, or 20 years.
Friday’s episode with Jiaona ‘JZ’ Zhang, CPO at Linktree:
Download the full transcript:
My 6 key takeaways:
The Best Product Leaders are Chameleons
They lean into different functions to build the best product.
They are able to wear different hats & act as a glue to the exec team
They are able to spot what needs work & go fill that hole.
Why Planning Should Not Exist
You should spend 80% of your time on “strategy” instead.
“Strategy” is a 2-page document on what gives you advantage.
It’s all the valuable parts of planning without any of the fluff.
The Three Levers of Product
Speed, quality, and scope.
It is impossible to get all three.
Scope is usually the first to go.
How We Use Scorecards to Track Projects
We grade every week in 3 colors:
🟢 Green: On-track
🟡 Yellow: At risk
🔴 Red: Off-track
Great teams should be able to spot potential issues before they become problems.
Biggest Early Stage Hiring Mistakes
Hiring a product leader too quickly.
You need to delegate & stay close to your product for as long as possible.
Product leaders should bring the best out of you so understand yourself first.
Advice to PMs Who Want to Get Promoted
Stop thinking about promotion.
Do great work on areas that have high impact.
Be known for being incredibly good at one thing.
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:
Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks
Mike Schroepfer, Founder & Partner at Gigascale