20VC: Why There Is A Revolution In VC, Why Boards Are Inherently Inefficient & Why Data Will Be Central To VC In The Future with Chris Farmer, General Partner @ SignalFire

Chris Farmer is a General Partner @ SignalFire, as he describes, 'the most quantitative fund in the world.' Chris has also assembled 50 other on-demand advisors to aid portfolio companies including Slack CEO, Stewart Butterfield, AltSchool Founder, Max Ventilla and Pinterest President, Tim Kendall. SignalFire's portfolio includes the likes of Uber, ClassDojo and Rocksbox just to name a few. Prior to SignalFire, Chris was a Venture Partner @ General Catalyst where he aided the development of their seed program. Prior to General Catalyst, Chris spent 4 years as a VP @ Bessemer Venture Partners.

In Today's Episode You Will Learn:

1.) How Chris made his way into the world of venture and came to be Founding Partner @ Signal Fire?

2.) Why does Chris believe the VC industry has not changed in the last 40 years? Why are the old guard of VCs worried for the evolution?

3.) Why does Chris believe data and tech will be centre to the revolution that is happening in VC? How will data be used to enhance the VC value add to startups in the coming years?

4.) From interviewing over 500 Founders, what was the most common challenges and problems founders face today? How should VCs be positioning themselves to provide additional value?

5.) What does Chris believe boards are so inherently inefficient? What would Chris like to see change in the world of boards? How does Chris position himself in terms of, board to partner ratio?

Items Mentioned In Today's Show:

Chris' Fave Blog: Above The Crowd: Bill Gurley

Chris' Fave Book: The Success Equation

Chris' Most Recent Investment: Frame.io

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